Two years following the U.S. Forest Service’s initiation of the largest and most devastating wildfire in New Mexico’s history, independent investigators have found gaps that must be addressed to ensure the success of prescribed fire as a risk reduction tool amidst climate change. The Government Accountability Office conducted the investigation at the request of U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández after the Hermit’s Peak-Calf Canyon Fire ravaged communities in her district in 2022.
The report, released Monday, highlighted 43 documented prescribed fire escapes between 2012 and 2021 out of 50,000 projects, occurring in various national forests across states like California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Idaho, North Carolina, and Arkansas. As federal agencies plan to increase prescribed burn operations over the next decade, Leger Fernández emphasized the critical need for safety measures.
The Forest Service carries out around 4,500 prescribed fires annually, covering about 1.3 million acres to reduce fuel. However, a 2023 AP review revealed that federal land managers have faced challenges in completing projects and have sometimes prioritized less threatened areas over highly at-risk communities.
Forest Service Chief Randy Moore acknowledged the agency’s progress and agreed with the GAO’s findings, committing to formulating and implementing a corrective action plan to address identified gaps. Moore also highlighted a record year in 2023 for treating hazardous fuels on forest lands, emphasizing the agency’s dedication to enhancing crews’ prescribed burn operation skills.
The GAO recommended that the Forest Service establish a plan to implement reforms, set goals, measure progress, and provide ample resources for managing the reform effort on a daily basis. Leger Fernández hopes for swift changes due to the increasing cost and danger of wildfires, emphasizing the urgent need for reform within federal forest management practices.
“They are killer fires now. They move very fast, and people cannot get out of the way fast enough,” she said. “And I think that kind of massive emergency that they are will lead to faster change than you might normally see in a large federal bureaucracy.”
