The West Heads for Wildfires Unprepared

The West is staring down a dangerous wildfire year. A dry winter and historically low snowpack have set the stage for a potentially severe 2026 fire season. But the deeper problem is that the nation’s capacity to respond to wildfire has eroded.

For decades, large wildfires were managed through the Incident Command System, a framework that depends on highly trained teams at the federal, state, and local level. These teams coordinate everything from strategy to evacuations and communication with communities.

Today, fewer than 38 of the largest teams, known as “Complex Incident Management Teams”,...