Senate Unanimously Passes Padilla Bill to Help Prevent Catastrophic Wildfires, Increase Use of Prescribed Fire

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Senate unanimously passed U.S. Senator Alex Padilla's (D-Calif.) Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act (WEPA) of 2026, a bipartisan bill to make it easier for states and communities to use prescribe fire to reduce hazardous fuel and prevent catastrophic wildfires. The legislation now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.

"California is no stranger to devastating wildfires - and we cannot afford to wait until the next fire starts to take action. We must ensure that communities across the state and country have the necessary resources to proactively prevent and mitigate these disasters," said Senator Padilla. "Prescribed fire is one of the most effective tools we have to confront the growing impacts of the wildfire crisis. I am proud to see the Senate unanimously pass our bipartisan bill to help communities protect their land as they face growing threats of wildfires."

WEPA would make it easier for states and communities to use prescribed fires to prevent wildfire emissions, protect ecosystems and wildlife habitats, and make American forests and communities safer, healthier, and cleaner. The bill also promotes the efficient use of state air quality resources and provides certainty that states will not be penalized for taking action to prevent wildfires.

Specifically, WEPA would:

• Make it easier for states and communities to use prescribed fire to prevent wildfire emissions;
• Provide certainty that states won't be penalized for taking action to prevent wildfires;
• Promote the efficient use of state air quality resources; and
• Make our forests and communities safer, healthier, and cleaner.

In addition to Padilla, WEPA was introduced with Senators John Curtis (R-Utah), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.).

Padilla took to the Senate floor to advocate for the bill, highlighting the urgent need to make it easier for communities to use prescribed fires to prevent wildfire emissions and reduce the risk of catastrophic fires.

"Western states, including Oregon, California, and others, are confronting a crisis of wildfires that aren't just growing larger and larger every year, but more destructive every year, and emitting massive amounts of toxic smoke," said Senator Padilla. "Now, there's no silver bullet for solving the wildfire crisis, but we know that prescribed fires - experience tells us and the data tells us - prescribed fire is one of the most effective tools in reducing hazardous fuels and preventing catastrophic wildfires."

Earlier this month, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on WEPA. The bill also advanced out of committee unanimously.

In the aftermath of the catastrophic Southern California fires, Padilla has introduced more than a dozen bills to help prevent and respond to future wildfires. Last year, he and Senator John Curtis (R-Utah) introduced the Fix Our Forests Act, bipartisan legislation to combat catastrophic wildfires, restore forest ecosystems, and make federal forest management more efficient and responsive. Last January, Padilla introduced a suite of bipartisan bills to strengthen wildfire recovery and resilience, including the Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act, the Fire Suppression and Response Funding Assurance Act, and the Disaster Housing Reform for American Families Act. On the one-year anniversary of the Los Angeles fires, Padilla and Senator Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) announced bipartisan legislation to establish a new grant program to help local communities defend themselves from the growing danger of wildfires.

Full text of the bill is available here.

Video of Padilla's remarks is available here.

Transcript of Padilla's remarks is available below:

Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, I'm proud to join our colleagues from Utah and Oregon in bringing up this bill. I can't overstate both the importance and the urgency of the Wildfire Emmission Prevention Act, which is a result of within a year of bipartisan negotiations and a measure that recently passed unanimously out of the Environment and Public Works Committee.

As my colleague from Oregon has begun to paint the picture. Western states, including Oregon, California, and others, are confronting a crisis of wildfires that aren't just growing larger and larger every year, but more destructive every year, and emitting massive amounts of toxic smoke.

Now, there's no silver bullet for solving the wildfire crisis, but we know that prescribed fires - experience tells us and the data tells us - prescribed fire is one of the most effective tools in reducing hazardous fuels and preventing catastrophic wildfires.

Will they continue to happen? Fires? Yes, but if we can prevent them, that's ideal - or at least mitigates their size, their scope and the damage that they cause, however we can.

But the problem that brings us to this measure, is that while the EPA regulations have allowed prescribed fires to qualify as exceptional events since 2016, the agency has never actually approved one, leaving states worried that using this critical tool, this provenly effective tool, to protect communities could jeopardize their air quality goals. Right? By trying to do good and prevent fires or mitigate fires from a public safety standpoint, you're penalized on the air quality side of things.

So, this bill creates a narrow, targeted pathway specifically for prescribed fire, while preserving existing air quality standards for other exceptional events.

I want to thank my colleagues from Utah and Oregon for their partnership in this important bill, and kudos to Chairwoman Capito and Ranking Member Whitehouse on the committee who helped craft this measure as well. Thank you, Mr. President.

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