Three U.S. government firefighters are dead, trapped Saturday in a fast-growing Colorado wildfire, as the Trump administration's new federal fire service implements a rapid-fire suppression approach established without customary congressional approval. The victims, part of an elite, helicopter-based crew, were overrun by flames near the Utah border while attacking the blaze on the ground. Five firefighters deployed tentlike emergency shelters; two survivors remain hospitalized with burn injuries.
The U.S. Wildland Fire Service, created this year, drew personnel from four agencies within the Interior Department, bypassing the customary congressional oversight. This consolidation of thousands of personnel has sown confusion among some firefighters, leaving them uncertain about their chain of command and responsibilities, according to former government officials.
Unaccountable Power Grab
The administration's focus on “full suppression” marks a sharp reversal from a decades-long trend that utilized controlled burns to clear fuel and mitigate catastrophic blazes. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s order mandates the Wildland Fire Service use full suppression “for every wildfire under its management,” federal officials stated to The Associated Press. “Any wildfire that represents a threat to life, property, infrastructure or the environment should be extinguished as quickly as possible,” the statement declared.
Critics contend the administration is attempting to fix a system that wasn't broken. The Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and National Park Service historically extinguished 98% of the fires they handled. Steve Ellis, a retired Bureau of Land Management deputy director, warned that severing forest management from fire suppression will make firefighting less safe and put communities at greater risk.
Elite Profits Over Public Safety
This policy shift directly benefits private fire aviation companies. Austin Moeller, an aerospace analyst for Canaccord Genuity, noted that “Anyone that has an air tanker benefits from this more aggressive contracting activity.” A chief beneficiary is Bridger Aerospace, a Montana-based company founded by U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy.
Before his 2024 election, Sheehy hired lobbyists in a failed attempt to persuade the Montana Legislature to create a statewide fire service mirroring the federal one now established. Within a month of taking federal office, Sheehy sponsored a bill to codify the consolidation of federal firefighters into one agency. Sheehy spokesman Tate Mitchell confirmed Trump initiated the new agency idea, but Sheehy supports it, stating, “One of Senator Sheehy’s top priorities in the Senate is using his experience to stop the catastrophic fires destroying American communities and he won’t apologize for it.” Bridger Aerospace CEO Sam Davis has publicly stated the company’s fleet and technology make it “uniquely positioned” to respond to the renewed emphasis on attacking fires.
Warnings Ignored
The new full suppression policy harkens back to the 1935 “10 a.m. rule,” which mandated extinguishing new fires by 10 a.m. the following day. Michael Dudley, a retired director of fire, aviation, and air management at the Forest Service, attributes today's overgrown forests to that old policy. Wildfires naturally clear small and dead material, but decades of aggressive suppression led to fuel buildup, making current fires harder to control.
Wildfires ignited over the past week across the West following months of dry weather and record low snow. A wind-driven fire northwest of Colorado City burned more than 35 square miles and destroyed over 150 structures, including at least 55 homes, in just one day. Timothy Ingalsbee, cofounder of Firefighters United For Safety, Ethics and Ecology, questioned the rationale behind attacking the fire that killed the three firefighters: “What was actually at risk? If it was a bunch of shrubs on remote mountaintops, what was the real risk that justified putting those firefighters at risk?”
Scientists who study wildfires dismiss the idea of stopping all fires as unrealistic. David Calkin, a former Forest Service wildfire researcher, stated, “The narrative that if we just try harder, we’re gonna make these fires go away isn’t true.” He added, “The fire paradox is not beatable: The more you make fire go away, the more fuel accumulates. The more fuel accumulates, the harder it is to make fires go away.” Luke Mayfield, a founder of Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, acknowledged the potential for severe fire conditions this season, noting that these conditions are now surfacing and have resulted in fatalities, with no immediate relief in sight.