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The Wildfire Response and Readiness Act expands prescribed fire operations, forest restoration, and wildfire prevention across federal lands while providing new support for communities and firefighters. The bill requires the Agriculture and Interior Departments to increase prescribed fire acreage by 10 percent annually over the next decade, establishes collaborative partnerships with states, tribes, and private entities to conduct these operations, and creates liability protections for fire managers. The legislation authorizes $100 million annually from 2027 through 2036 for post-fire ecosystem restoration and a separate $100 million Community Resilience and Restoration Fund, while also funding forest landscape restoration projects, nursery and seed programs, and large-scale forest restoration initiatives covering up to 20 projects. The bill provides new federal assistance to homeowners earning under $250,000 (or $500,000 for joint returns) to receive up to $10,000 in grants for wildfire mitigation measures like defensible space and fire-resistant materials, establishes a new federal office within NOAA to coordinate wildfire response across agencies, and significantly improves compensation and benefits for federal wildland firefighters including annual cost-of-living pay increases, hazardous duty pay, recruitment bonuses, and mandatory rest and recuperation leave after major fire incidents.

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