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Subcommittee hearing presses urgency on Fix Our Forests Act as witnesses cite LA fires' toll
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Summary
Lawmakers and witnesses at the House Subcommittee on Federal Lands urged swift enactment of the Fix Our Forests Act, saying faster fuels reduction, coordinated ‘‘fire-shed’’ centers and more community hardening are needed after last year’s Los Angeles wildfires.
Chair Westerman opened the Subcommittee on Federal Lands hearing one year after the Los Angeles fires and urged passage of the Fix Our Forests Act to speed fuel reduction projects and reduce risk to communities. "It's time for us to get this legislation over the finish line and send the bill to the president's desk," Chair Westerman said.
Steven Crowder, mayor of Paradise, California, described rebuilding after the 2018 Camp Fire and urged faster federal action on adjacent federal lands. Crowder said Paradise adopted stringent local building and defensible-space rules, now achieving roughly 90% compliance, and argued that "forest health must be treated as a life safety issue." He told the subcommittee that federal delays in fuels reduction put communities at risk when ignitions occur on neighboring federal lands.
Witnesses agreed on core goals but differed on emphasis. Dr. David Calkin, principal at Calkin Wildfire Consulting and courtesy faculty at Oregon State University, said community protection and landscape management are separable problems that require different strategies: "Protecting community starts at the individual home," he said, while landscape restoration will require prescribed fire, targeted fuels treatments and long-term investments.
Robert Gordon, senior vice president at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, told the panel insurers support FOFA provisions that improve federal coordination, citing a proposal to create fire-shed centers to consolidate data and prioritize resources. "Federal coordination can help disseminate some of the rapidly evolving fire mitigation practices," Gordon said, noting insurer-backed standards such as those from the Institute for Business and Home Safety.
Several members pressed for answers about process and implementation. Rep. McClintock argued longstanding environmental laws have constrained active land management and urged permitting and program reforms to allow mechanical thinning, grazing and controlled burns where appropriate. Ranking Member Huffman and others emphasized oversight of agency reorganizations, staffing and funding, saying those structural issues must be resolved for FOFA authorities to succeed.
Witnesses and members repeatedly highlighted that no single action will eliminate wildfire risk: faster project delivery, clearer interagency roles, investment in home hardening and community preparedness, and addressing the economic barriers to scaling treatments are all needed. The committee held the record open for written follow-ups and adjourned without a vote.
The subcommittee asked witnesses to submit written responses by Friday, 2026-02-06.
