House subcommittee weighs Fix Our Forests Act as witnesses push faster tech adoption to prevent wildfires

The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands held a hearing to review the Fix Our Forests Act and the role of emerging technologies in wildfire forecasting, detection, mitigation and response.

Why it matters: Lawmakers and witnesses said more timely deployment of cameras, satellites, drones, artificial intelligence and better data sharing could speed detection, improve decision making and reduce the costs and human toll of wildfires — but several members and witnesses warned technology must be paired with sustained staffing, funding and clearer acquisition authorities.

Chairman Tiffany opened the hearing by saying the Fix Our Forests Act would “unlock technological innovation, cut red tape, and bring private sector tools and common sense solutions into our forests,” and noted that more than 1.6 million acres had burned so far that year. Ranking Member Joe Neguse said he agreed that innovation matters but warned “technology alone, of course, is not a silver bullet” and that agencies need staff and stable budgets to use new systems effectively.

Government Accountability Office Director of Science and Technology Assessment Dr. Karen Howard told the committee that a range of technologies — satellites, aircraft, drones, cameras, sensors and machine learning — "have the potential…