"The agency attributed the drop to staff being occupied with firefighting and unsuitable environmental conditions."
Forest Service Reports Sharp Decline in Hazardous Vegetation Removal and Prescribed Burns
The US Forest Service reduced hazardous vegetation on approximately 2.6 million acres in 2025, down from over 4 million acres in 2024.
Prescribed burning in 2025 covered about 900,000 acres, compared to over 1.6 million acres in both 2023 and 2024. This represents a significant drop in two key wildfire prevention measures.
The agency attributed the drop to staff being occupied with firefighting and unsuitable environmental conditions for prescribed burns in the Southeast. The shift highlights a growing challenge: when fire seasons grow longer and more intense, the very resources needed to prevent fires are diverted to fighting them.
Workforce Decline Compounds the Issue
The Forest Service lost 16% of its workforce as of summer 2025, with 5,860 personnel leaving in the first six months of 2025 due to administration downsizing efforts. This loss in capacity is likely to further strain the agency's ability to conduct prevention work while simultaneously responding to active wildfires.