California has officially joined the Northwest Wildland Fire Fighting Compact, becoming the newest member in a network of U.S. states, Canadian provinces and territories committed to collaborating to prevent and suppress wildfires.

The partnership comes as the Governor’s Office said the Trump administration makes dangerous cuts to the U.S. Forest Service, which threatens the safety of communities across the state and country.

The Northwest Wildland Fire Fighting Compact, or NW Compact, established in 1998, allows members to share firefighting resources, technology, and expertise when wildfires exceed the capacity of a single jurisdiction. 

Existing members include Alberta, Yukon Territory, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Montana and Hawaii.

“While the Trump administration retreats from firefighting, California is proud to join forces with our northwestern neighbors to fight catastrophic wildfire. We’re all on the front lines of this worsening wildfire threat — and by joining our collective resources together, we will be even more effective in protecting our communities,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom.

California’s landscapes face increasing wildfire threats due to climate change. In recent years, hotter temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and more frequent extreme wind events have intensified fire risk.

Joining the NW Compact gives California additional access to firefighting resources and expertise during major wildfire incidents. It also allows California’s firefighters to gain experience assisting with fire suppression efforts in other member regions, experience that strengthens readiness at home. 

Nevada also joins the NW Compact alongside California in 2025, bringing the total member states and provinces to thirteen.

“Wildfire is no longer a problem that stops at our borders and state lines,” said Joe Tyler, director and fire chief of Cal Fire. “By joining the NW Compact, we’re building stronger connections, sharing knowledge, and ensuring that when fires threaten, we can respond faster and more effectively.”

Nevada has experienced a dramatic increase in average annual acres burned from wildfires in the most recent 20 years. The acres burned have doubled to 450,000 acres per year, on average, largely attributed to invasive annual grasses, increased wildfire fuel loads, and the prevalence of human-caused ignitions. This year, the Cottonwood Peak Fire burned over 132,000 acres alone. 

Nevada is joining the Northwest and Great Plains Compacts to bolster wildfire response resources in- and out-of-state in the most critical times of need. These compacts streamline the resource ordering and response to reduce response times and increase resources from a broader set of partners across the Nation.

”Safe and effective wildfire response is built on a foundation of partnerships between local, state and federal entities, alongside the support of private contractors. With the ever-increasing wildfire occurrence across the United States, especially in the West, these partnerships become even more essential,” stated Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo. “Partnerships are the Nevada way and these compacts offer additional tools for greater protection of citizens, visitors, properties and landscapes across this great state."

Both states have a long history with several compact members already through separate mutual aid agreements, making this a great opportunity for them to build on old relationships and create new ones as well.

The two states’ decision to join the NW compact was due to the need for additional firefighting resources among agency members. The compact enables the exchange of resources with other compact members to improve wildfire response capacity in California and Nevada. It will allow wildland firefighters from these states to gain experience by assisting with wildland firefighting efforts on the North American continent while also allowing the state to call on assistance from other members in the compact, thereby benefiting all compact members.

Additional information about the Northwest Wildland Fire Fighting Compact can be found here.

California’s unprecedented wildfire readiness 

As part of the state’s ongoing investment in wildfire resilience and emergency response, Cal Fire has significantly expanded its workforce over the past five years by adding an average of 1,800 full-time and 600 seasonal positions annually — nearly double that of the previous administration. 

Over the next four years and beyond, Cal Fire will be hiring thousands of additional firefighters, natural resource professionals, and support personnel to meet the state’s growing demands.

In recent months, the governor has announced millions of dollars in investments to protect communities from wildfire — with $135 million available for new and ongoing prevention projects and $72 million going out the door to projects across the state. This is part of over $5 billion the Newsom administration, in collaboration with the legislature, has invested in wildfire and forest resilience since 2019. 

Additionally, 90 new vegetation management projects spanning over 21,000 acres have already been fast-tracked to approval under the streamlined process provided by the Governor’s March 2025 state of emergency proclamation.

This builds on consecutive years of intensive and focused work by California to confront the severe ongoing risk of catastrophic wildfires. New, bold moves to streamline state-level regulatory processes builds long-term efforts already underway in California to increase wildfire response and forest management in the face of a hotter, drier climate. 

Newsom’s office said the state’s efforts are in stark contrast to the Trump administration’s dangerous cuts to the U.S. Forest Service, which also threatens the safety of communities across the state. 

The U.S. Forest Service has lost 10% of all positions and 25% of positions outside of direct wildfire response — both of which are likely to impact wildfire response this year. 

In recent weeks, the Trump administration proposed a massive reorganization that would shutter the Pacific Regional Forest Service office and other regional Forest Service offices across the West, compounding staff cuts and voluntary resignations across the agency.

To learn more about preparedness, visit ReadyforWildfire.org. 

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Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS

Published: 06 September 2025