A group of U.S. senators say the Forest Service has fallen behind in wildfire prevention work like forest thinning which has been deemed vital to preventing billions of dollars of damage to regions in Arizona surrounded by national forests.
In their letter to the Forest Service chief, the Democratic senators said the agency’s assessment that it’s been ahead in reducing hazardous fuels doesn’t tell the full story because it uses fiscal year data and that includes the latter part of 2024 to make the claim about success this year. The senators say the agency is actually behind by nearly 40% compared to the previous four.
"Through September of calendar year 2025, only 1.7 million acres received hazardous fuels reduction treatment, a decline from the four-year average of 3.6 million acres," they wrote in the letter.
Reduction involves projects like forest thinning which has been broadly used in Coconino National Forest to reduce the severity of wildfires. An NAU report estimates Flagstaff would see nearly $3 billion in loss from a catastrophic fire.
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Highschoolers across six BIE-run schools in South Dakota, Oklahoma, Montana and New Mexico are already participating, including Northwest High School in Shiprock on the Navajo Nation. -
The study found that permafrost can thaw during intense wildfires in Alaska and Canada, which contributes to a warming climate feedback loop. -
The team, led by a Boise State University civil engineering researcher, looked at half a million wildfire starts, and hundreds of attributes about them. Beyond the obvious weather variables like wind speed, temperature and humidity, they also considered human factors like density of development. -
The 11 senators and representatives - all Democrats - said that the consolidation of four Department of Interior agencies' wildfire programs is being done "without adequate analysis, transparency, or planning to prevent disruption during what is expected to be a significant fire season or to safeguard long-term wildfire preparedness." -
Hikers and bikers who use Dove Valley Trail in Scottsdale may want to consider other options while the city does some work to reduce wildfire risk and improve emergency access.
