The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced sweeping changes to its wildfire response protocols Wednesday after what officials called the most destructive fire season in American history.
The new framework establishes pre-positioned response teams in high-risk areas, streamlines evacuation coordination between federal and state agencies, and increases funding for firebreak construction.
More than 8.5 million acres have burned across the Western states so far this year, surpassing the previous record set in 2020.
The fires have displaced more than 150,000 residents, destroyed thousands of structures, and caused an estimated $12 billion in damage.
Critics of the current response system have argued that FEMA's traditional hurricane-focused approach is poorly suited to the increasingly frequent and severe wildfire events driven by climate change.
