The deaths of three U.S. government firefighters in a Colorado wildfire have drawn attention to the Trump administration's creation of a new federal fire service and its revival of a previously discredited policy to suppress all wildfires quickly.
One of the deceased firefighters worked for the U.S. Wildland Fire Service, established this year without customary congressional approval by drawing personnel from four agencies within the Interior Department. The victims were part of an elite helicopter-based crew that became trapped Saturday in a fast-growing wildfire near the Utah border while attacking the blaze on the ground.
Five firefighters, including those who died, attempted to shield themselves by deploying tentlike emergency shelters as flames overran their position. The two survivors were hospitalized with burn injuries.
Confusion and Criticism Over New Agency
The consolidation of thousands of personnel into the fire service has caused confusion among some firefighters regarding their bosses and responsibilities, according to former government officials. The administration's focus on “full suppression” of new fires marks a sharp reversal from a decades-long trend toward using controlled burns to reduce fuel loads and mitigate catastrophic blazes worsened by climate change.
Federal officials have not released details on the circumstances preceding the weekend deaths, including the firefighters' objective at the site where they were overrun.
“The question is, why were they attacking that fire in the first place?” asked Timothy Ingalsbee, a former federal firefighter and cofounder of the advocacy group Firefighters United For Safety, Ethics and Ecology. “What was actually at risk? If it was a bunch of shrubs on remote mountaintops, what was the real risk that justified putting those firefighters at risk?”
Full Suppression Policy and Its Critics
Under an order from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the Wildland Fire Service plans to use full suppression “for every wildfire under its management,” federal officials said in a statement to The Associated Press. “Any wildfire that represents a threat to life, property, infrastructure or the environment should be extinguished as quickly as possible,” the statement said. “Our experienced fire managers retain the authority to select the safest and most effective tactics based on conditions on the ground.”
But critics argue the administration is trying to fix something that isn't broken: The four agencies from which firefighters were drawn—the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and National Park Service—have a record of extinguishing 98% of the fires they handle.
Steve Ellis, a retired Bureau of Land Management deputy director, said the new agency and policy won't eliminate catastrophic wildfires caused by dense forests, expanding human development, and extreme weather due to climate change. “Severing forest management and forest managers from fire suppression will make firefighting less safe and put communities at greater risk,” Ellis said.
The two other wildland firefighters killed in Colorado worked for the Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, which handles most U.S. wildfires and also operates under a full suppression policy. President Trump had wanted the new agency to include Forest Service firefighters, but Congress blocked that part of the plan.
Role of Private Fire Aviation Companies
Under Trump, federal officials have been bringing in aircraft more quickly once fires ignite, said Austin Moeller, an aerospace analyst for the investment firm Canaccord Genuity. “Anyone that has an air tanker benefits from this more aggressive contracting activity,” Moeller said.
A chief beneficiary is Bridger Aerospace, a Montana-based company founded by U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy. Before his 2024 election, Sheehy hired lobbyists in a failed attempt to persuade the Montana Legislature to create a statewide fire service analogous to the federal one. Within a month of taking federal office, he sponsored a bill to codify the consolidation of federal firefighters into one agency.
Sheehy stepped away from his company during the 2024 campaign and put his Bridger assets into a blind trust, said Sheehy spokesman Tate Mitchell. Mitchell said Trump was behind the idea to create a new fire agency, but Sheehy supports it. “One of Senator Sheehy's top priorities in the Senate is using his experience to stop the catastrophic fires destroying American communities and he won't apologize for it,” Mitchell said.
Bridger describes itself as one of the nation's leading aerial firefighting companies. CEO Sam Davis has said the company's fleet of Super Scooper aircraft, surveillance aircraft, and fire observation technology make it “uniquely positioned” to respond to the renewed emphasis on attacking fires to put them out.
Historical Context and Scientific Concerns
The new full suppression policy harkens back to a 1935 policy known as the 10 a.m. rule, which required agencies to put out new fires by 10 a.m. the following day. Michael Dudley, a retired director of fire, aviation, and air management at the Forest Service, said that old policy is why forests today are overgrown. Wildfires serve a purpose—they clear out small and dead material. But officials became so adept at putting out fires that forests kept growing, building up fuels, making fires easier to get out of control.
Scientists who study wildfires say trying to stop all fires is unrealistic, as some of the most destructive blazes in recent years have evaded suppression efforts. Some fires grow too fast, are too remote, or result from multiple ignitions that make them impossible to stop.
“The narrative that if we just try harder, we're gonna make these fires go away isn't true,” said former Forest Service wildfire researcher David Calkin. “The fire paradox is not beatable: The more you make fire go away, the more fuel accumulates. The more fuel accumulates, the harder it is to make fires go away.”
Firefighter Perspectives on the New Agency
Firefighters in the consolidated agency are working under newly appointed Wildland Fire Service Chief Brian Fennessy, who had served as chief of California's Orange County Fire Authority since 2018. “There's a level of confusion as everyone's trying to sort out responsibilities and who's in charge and who do you report to,” Dudley said.
An Interior spokesperson said Fennessy is highly respected with decades of experience, including managing some of the nation's most complex fire challenges in densely populated southern California. Luke Mayfield, a founder of the group Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, said he believes the consolidation will better serve firefighters, but significant work remains to get the new agency fully running.
“Everyone was aware of the potential fuel and fire conditions we face this fire season,” Mayfield said. “Those conditions are surfacing and have resulted in firefighter fatalities with weather conditions that won't let up in the near future.”
