Fire Ready Nation Act of 2025

The Fire Ready Nation Act of 2025, which passed the Senate and is now being debated in the House, would give the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) formal authority and funding to expand its wildfire response and forecasting services. The bill would direct NOAA to create a coordinated fire weather services program to help communities prepare for and respond to wildfires, smoke, and related hazards like post-fire flooding.

Under the bill, NOAA would develop new tools and digital platforms to make fire weather information more accessible to the public and emergency responders. The legislation would also establish a fire weather test bed to develop and test new forecasting technologies, including the use of drones to collect better weather data. Additionally, the bill would require NOAA to conduct annual assessments after fire season to identify gaps in data and improve its systems accordingly.

The bill would also strengthen the National Weather Service by creating an Incident Meteorologist Service to provide on-site expert support before, during, and after major weather events that could cause fires. Federal wildland firefighters and fire management officials would be exempted from certain pay limitations, potentially allowing for better compensation during emergency response operations. Finally, the bill would require the Government Accountability Office to evaluate how well these new programs are working and report back to Congress on their effectiveness.