Sponsors (5)
Introduced January 21, 2025 by Jared Huffman · Last progress January 21, 2025
The bill directs significant federal funding, mapping, and program coordination to strengthen wildfire resilience—helping homeowners, tribes, and localities reduce risk and improve preparedness—while creating notable federal cost, local matching and administrative burdens, and risks of uneven access, implementation delays, and some environmental tradeoffs.
Homeowners, tribal and local governments, and communities in wildfire-prone areas will gain new federal planning and implementation grants to fund community wildfire plans and resilience projects, expanding local capacity to prepare for and respond to wildfires.
Homeowners and critical facilities in high-risk areas will be able to receive funds and support for defensible-space work and structure-hardening projects that reduce property loss and service disruption during wildfires.
State and local leaders, planners, and emergency managers will get improved federal data — including a GAO inventory of authorities/programs, a national map of at‑risk communities updated every five years, and a FEMA assessment of communications gaps — to better target funding and coordinate response.
All taxpayers face increased federal spending (including an explicit $1 billion per year authorization for FY2025–2029 and expanded grant programs), which could raise deficits or crowd out other priorities.
Small, rural, and volunteer fire departments and some local governments will face administrative burdens and potentially onerous 25% non‑Federal match requirements (unless waived), making it harder for resource‑poor communities to apply for or complete projects.
Smaller or newly formed communities and under-resourced applicants risk being disadvantaged—large grant caps and match rules may favor well‑resourced applicants, and eligibility limits could exclude newly incorporated communities.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Creates a new FEMA Community Protection and Wildfire Resilience Grant Program to fund community wildfire planning and on-the-ground projects, prioritize high-risk communities, and strengthen structure hardening and defensible-space efforts. The bill sets grant limits and cost-share rules, directs FEMA and the U.S. Forest Service to map at-risk communities and assess radio communications, requires two GAO reports on federal wildfire authorities and insurance metrics, and expands eligible projects under the existing Community Wildfire Defense Grant program. The program is funded by an authorization of $1 billion per year for fiscal years 2025–2029, includes planning and implementation grant streams, and emphasizes use of local labor and waivers for cost-share to help low-income communities. It also requires timelines for program establishment, mapping, and reporting to improve coordination and identify gaps in wildfire preparedness and communications.