S. 453 — Wildfire Intelligence Collaboration and Coordination Act of 2025

This section expresses the sense of Congress that wildfire management requires integrated efforts across federal, state, tribal, local governments, and the private sector and endorses recommendations in the September 2023 report of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission entitled “On FIRE,” which represents consensus from 50 experts on addressing rapidly changing ecosystems, fragmented federal research and predictive services, and the need for an interagency joint office with dedicated funding for fire assessment, prediction, data aggregation, and science-based decision-support services.

This section establishes the Wildfire Intelligence Center as a joint office in the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of the Interior to study, plan, coordinate, and implement issues of joint concern relating to wildland fires, including serving as the development and operational center for comprehensive fire assessment and prediction to provide decision support services; facilitating collaboration and information sharing across federal, state, Tribal, local, academic, and private sector entities; and addressing other issues identified by the relevant secretaries. The Center's board must select a permanent U.S. headquarters location not later than one year after enactment. The Center's functions include (1) providing real-time scientific and technical analytical services, decision support, and predictive services across all fire phases; (2) assessing and monitoring wildland fires and conditions such as ignition, spread, weather, fuels, smoke, and post-fire effects; (3) modeling fire behavior and risks; (4) combining data, mapping, and consultation services such as maintaining a nationwide fire risk catalog, assisting with evacuation and power shutoff plans, and providing forecast products; (5) consolidating air quality data for public health protection; (6) developing accessible tools including a real-time data interface for firefighters using federal and commercial observations; (7) establishing interoperable IT infrastructure for federal, state, local, and Tribal governments; (8) promoting data interoperability through common standards, inventories, Tribal partnerships, information sharing, confidentiality protections, technology updates, and big-data architecture; and (9) developing and disseminating tools, guidance, maps, and training in coordination with relevant entities to support wildland fire planning, risk reduction, and response for state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments.