II 

Calendar No. 712 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2290 

To improve wildfire management operations and the safety of firefighters 

and communities with the best available technology. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 10, 2018 

Ms. CANTWELL (for herself and Mr. GARDNER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

DECEMBER 4, 2018 

Reported by Ms. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To improve wildfire management operations and the safety 

of firefighters and communities with the best available 

technology. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Wildfire Management Technology Advancement Act of 

6 2018’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Purpose. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Unmanned aircraft systems. 

Sec. 5. Location systems for wildland firefighters. 

Sec. 6. Fire risk maps. 

Sec. 7. Real-time warnings. 

Sec. 8. Smoke projections from active wildland fires. 

Sec. 9. Reverse-911 telecommunications systems. 

Sec. 10. Firefighter injuries database. 

Sec. 11. Rapid response erosion database. 

Sec. 12. Research for effectiveness and standards. 

Sec. 13. Predicting where wildfires will start. 

Sec. 14. Study on aircraft operating at night. 

Sec. 15. Termination of authority. 

3 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

4 The purpose of this Act is to build on the successes 

5 of the Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy and Na6 tional Cohesive Fire Strategy established pursuant to sec7 tion 503 of the FLAME Act of 2009 (43 U.S.C. 1748b) 

8 (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of 

9 this Act), as necessary to protect the safety of firefighters 

10 and communities from wildfires on public land and Na11 tional Forest System land created from the public domain, 

12 by— 

13 (1) reducing the damages, particularly to 

14 houses, from wildfires; 

15 (2) preparing forests and communities for 

16 wildfires; 

17 (3) increasing the safety of firefighters; and 


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1 (4) containing costs and increasing the account2 ability of decisions relating to wildland fires. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) BURN SEVERITY MAP.—The term ‘‘burn se6 verity map’’ means a map created by the Secretary 

7 concerned that depicts the changes in land-cover and 

8 soil properties caused by a wildland fire. 

9 (2) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

10 means— 

11 (A) the Secretary of the Interior; and 

12 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture. 

13 (3) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec14 retary concerned’’ means— 

15 (A) the Secretary of the Interior, with re16 spect to activities under the Department of the 

17 Interior; and 

18 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re19 spect to activities under the Department of Ag20 riculture. 

21 (4) WILDFIRE.—The term ‘‘wildfire’’ means 

22 any nonstructure fire, other than a prescribed fire, 

23 occurring in vegetation or natural fuels on— 

24 (A) public land; or 


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1 (B) National Forest System land created 

2 from the public domain. 

3 (5) WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘wildland5 urban interface’’ has the meaning given the 

6 term in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Res7 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 

8 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘wildland9 urban interface’’ does not include— 

10 (i) any forest reserve not created from 

11 the public domain; or 

12 (ii) any national grassland or land uti13 lization project administered under title III 

14 of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act 

15 (7 U.S.C. 1010 et seq.). 

16 SEC. 4. UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS. 

17 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 (1) RESTRICTED AIRSPACE.—The term ‘‘re19 stricted airspace’’ means an area for which the Ad20 ministrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 

21 has established a temporary flight restriction for a 

22 wildland fire. 

23 (2) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT; UNMANNED AIR24 CRAFT SYSTEM.—The terms ‘‘unmanned aircraft’’ 

25 and ‘‘unmanned aircraft system’’ have the meaning 


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1 given those terms in section 331 of the FAA Mod2 ernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Public Law 

3 112–95; 49 U.S.C. 40101 note). 

4 (b) OFFICIAL USE.— 

5 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—Subject to paragraph 

6 (4), Federal and State wildland firefighting agencies 

7 (including designees of the agencies) may operate 

8 unmanned aircraft systems in managing wildland 

9 fires. 

10 (2) DEVELOPMENT OF PROTOCOLS AND

11 PLANS.—Subject to the availability of appropria12 tions, not later than March 1, 2019, Federal 

13 wildland firefighting agencies, in coordination with 

14 State wildland firefighting agencies, shall develop 

15 protocols and plans for the use of unmanned aircraft 

16 systems for surveillance, initial and extended attack, 

17 and incident management team use, as appropriate, 

18 including for the development of real-time maps of 

19 the location of wildland fires. 

20 (3) DEADLINE.—Subject to the availability of 

21 appropriations, not later than May 1, 2020, and in 

22 accordance with the protocols and plans developed 

23 under paragraph (2), the Secretaries shall begin to 

24 equip firefighting personnel with unmanned aircraft 

25 systems to develop real-time maps, detect spot fires, 


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1 assess fire behavior, develop tactical and strategic 

2 firefighting plans, position fire resources, and en3 hance firefighter safety. 

4 (4) LIMITATION ON OPERATION.—Unmanned 

5 aircraft may only be operated under this section in 

6 accordance with regulations and other authorities of 

7 the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis8 tration. 

9 (c) UNOFFICIAL USE.—Not later than May 1, 2018, 

10 the Secretaries, in consultation with other appropriate 

11 Federal agencies, shall seek to reduce the number of con12 flicts between personal-use unmanned aircraft and 

13 wildland fire operations by— 

14 (1) enhancing public awareness of the potential 

15 for those conflicts; 

16 (2) establishing a protocol to notify a user of an 

17 unmanned aircraft system operating within or adja18 cent to restricted airspace; 

19 (3) employing a system to ground an unmanned 

20 aircraft that is operating within restricted airspace; 

21 and 

22 (4) encouraging the Administrator of the Fed23 eral Aviation Administration to enforce penalties 

24 available under section 46320 of title 49, United 


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1 States Code, when a user operates an unmanned air2 craft system in a restricted airspace. 

3 SEC. 5. LOCATION SYSTEMS FOR WILDLAND FIRE4 FIGHTERS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap6 propriations, not later than March 1, 2019, the Secre7 taries shall jointly develop and operate a tracking system 

8 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘system’’) to remotely 

9 locate the positions of fire resources assigned to Federal 

10 Type 1 Wildland Fire Incident Management Teams. 

11 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The system shall— 

12 (1) use technology available to the Secretaries 

13 to remotely track the location of an active resource, 

14 such as a Global Positioning System; 

15 (2) depict the location of each fire resource on 

16 the maps developed under section 4(b)(2); and 

17 (3) operate continuously during the period any 

18 firefighting personnel are assigned to the applicable 

19 Federal wildland fire. 

20 (c) OPERATION.—The Secretary concerned shall— 

21 (1) operate the system during a wildland fire to 

22 increase— 

23 (A) the safety of employees, officers, and 

24 contractors; and 


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1 (B) the effectiveness of the management of 

2 the wildland fire; and 

3 (2) conduct training and maintain a culture 

4 such that an employee, officer, or contractor shall 

5 not rely on the system for safety. 

6 SEC. 6. FIRE RISK MAPS. 

7 Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Sec8 retaries, in consultation with other appropriate Federal 

9 agencies, may assist a State, unit of local government, or 

10 nongovernmental organization that is seeking technical or 

11 financial support to develop or refine maps, at a scale and 

12 resolution to be useful for local governments, that depict 

13 the relative risk of wildfires for land in the wildland-urban 

14 interface. 

15 SEC. 7. REAL-TIME WARNINGS. 

16 (a) WILDLAND FIRE PROTOCOL.—The Secretaries 

17 shall ensure that the activities conducted by the Secre18 taries relating to wildland fire safely achieve reasonable 

19 objectives while minimizing firefighter exposure to the low20 est level necessary to accomplish those objectives. 

21 (b) WILDFIRE DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall estab23 lish a system to track and monitor decisions made 

24 when managing a wildfire. 


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1 (2) COMPONENTS OF THE SYSTEM.—The sys2 tem established under paragraph (1) shall be able to 

3 alert the Secretaries if— 

4 (A) unusual costs are incurred; 

5 (B) an action is undertaken that would 

6 likely endanger the safety of a firefighter; or 

7 (C) a decision regarding the management 

8 of a wildfire deviates from— 

9 (i) a protocol established by the Secre10 taries, including the requirement under 

11 subsection (a); or 

12 (ii) a spatial fire management plan or 

13 fire management plan of the Secretary 

14 concerned. 

15 SEC. 8. SMOKE PROJECTIONS FROM ACTIVE WILDLAND 

16 FIRES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall establish a 

18 program, to be known as the ‘‘Interagency Wildland Fire 

19 Air Quality Response Program’’, under which the Sec20 retary concerned— 

21 (1) to the maximum extent practicable, shall as22 sign a team of air resource advisors to a type 1 inci23 dent management team managing a wildland fire; 

24 and 


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1 (2) may assign a team of air resource advisors 

2 to a type 2 incident management team managing a 

3 wildland fire. 

4 (b) DUTY.—An air resource advisor assigned under 

5 subsection (a) shall use a model to project— 

6 (1) how much smoke will be generated from the 

7 wildland fire; and 

8 (2) where the impacts of the smoke will occur. 

9 (c) PUBLIC DISSEMINATION.—At least once each 

10 day, the Secretaries shall make available to the public the 

11 projections generated under subsection (b). 

12 SEC. 9. REVERSE-911 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Federal 

14 Emergency Management Agency (referred to in this sec15 tion as the ‘‘Administrator’’) may use funds appropriated 

16 for the emergency management performance grant pro17 gram under section 662 of the Post-Katrina Emergency 

18 Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 762) to make 

19 grants to States to provide funding to communities on the 

20 list of at-risk communities developed pursuant to title IV 

21 of the Department of the Interior and Related Appropria22 tions Act, 2001 (Public Law 106–291; 114 Stat. 1006) 

23 (referred to in this section as ‘‘at-risk communities’’) for 

24 the cost-shared installation of a reverse-911 system. 


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1 (b) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal share 

2 of the cost of installing a reverse-911 system using a grant 

3 under this section shall be 50 percent. 

4 (c) OUTCOME-BASED PERFORMANCE MEASURE.— 

5 Beginning in fiscal year 2019, as part of the budget sub6 mission of the President, the Administrator shall report 

7 the percentage of at-risk communities that possess a re8 verse-911 system. 

9 SEC. 10. FIREFIGHTER INJURIES DATABASE. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(a) of the Federal Fire 

11 Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2208(a)) 

12 is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, categorized 

14 by the type of fire’’ after ‘‘such injuries and deaths’’; 

15 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘activities;’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘activities, including— 

17 ‘‘(A) all injuries sustained by a firefighter 

18 and treated by a doctor, categorized by the type 

19 of firefighter; 

20 ‘‘(B) all deaths sustained while undergoing 

21 a pack test or while preparing for a work capac22 ity; 

23 ‘‘(C) all injuries or deaths resulting from 

24 vehicle accidents; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) all injuries or deaths resulting from 

2 aircraft crashes;’’; 

3 (3) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

4 the semicolon at the end; 

5 (4) by redesignating paragraph (8) as para6 graph (10); and 

7 (5) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(8) the total costs incurred in the management 

10 of each wildland fire managed by a Type 1 or 2 Inci11 dent Management Team; 

12 ‘‘(9) the total number of structures lost during 

13 wildfires; and’’. 

14 (b) USE OF EXISTING DATA GATHERING AND ANAL15 YSIS ORGANIZATIONS.—Section 9(b)(3) of the Federal 

16 Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 

17 2208(b)(3)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, including the Cen18 ter for Firefighter Injury Research and Safety Trends’’ 

19 after ‘‘public and private’’. 

20 (c) MEDICAL PRIVACY OF FIREFIGHTERS.—Section 

21 9 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 

22 (15 U.S.C. 2208) is amended by adding at the end the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(e) MEDICAL PRIVACY OF FIREFIGHTERS.—The 

25 collection, storage, and transfer of any medical data colVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Dec 04, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2290.RS S2290

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1 lected under this section shall be conducted in accordance 

2 with— 

3 ‘‘(1) the privacy regulations promulgated under 

4 section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability 

5 and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320d– 

6 2 note; Public Law 104–191); and 

7 ‘‘(2) other applicable regulations, including 

8 parts 160, 162, and 164 of title 45, Code of Federal 

9 Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment 

10 of this subsection).’’. 

11 SEC. 11. RAPID RESPONSE EROSION DATABASE. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries, in coordination 

13 with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and 

14 Space Administration, shall establish and maintain a data15 base, to be known as the ‘‘Rapid Response Erosion Data16 base’’ (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Database’’). 

17 (b) OPEN-SOURCE DATABASE.— 

18 (1) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretaries shall make 

19 the Database (including the original source code)— 

20 (A) web-based; and 

21 (B) available without charge. 

22 (2) COMPONENTS.—The Database shall provide 

23 for— 


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1 (A) the automatic incorporation into a 

2 burn severity map of spatial data relating to 

3 vegetation, soils, and elevation; and 

4 (B) the generation of a composite map 

5 that can be used by the Secretary concerned to 

6 model the effectiveness of treatments in the 

7 burned area to prevent flooding, erosion, and 

8 landslides under a range of weather scenarios. 

9 (c) USE.—The Secretary concerned shall use, to the 

10 maximum extent practicable, the Database in developing 

11 recommendations for emergency stabilization treatments 

12 or modifications to drainage structures to protect values13 at-risk following a large wildland fire. 

14 SEC. 12. RESEARCH FOR EFFECTIVENESS AND STANDARDS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—To assess the effectiveness of fire 

16 protection strategies, the Secretary of Commerce, acting 

17 through the Director of the National Institute of Stand18 ards and Technology (referred to in this section as the 

19 ‘‘Secretary’’), shall— 

20 (1) establish a national team to collect data fol21 lowing wildfires in the wildland-urban interface; and 

22 (2) implement a research plan to link economic 

23 outcomes with wildfire mitigation actions by— 

24 (A) understanding the relative contribution 

25 of fuels configuration, weather, and terrain; 


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1 (B) quantifying the cost of providing the 

2 current level of fire protection; 

3 (C) understanding the losses resulting 

4 from wildfires in the wildland-urban interface; 

5 and 

6 (D) using performance metrics to assess 

7 the effectiveness of current designs, materials, 

8 and technologies. 

9 (b) RESPONSE-TIME THRESHOLD.—The Secretary 

10 shall develop optimal time-to-response standards for a 

11 firefighting agency to reach a wildfire in the wildland12 urban interface. 

13 (c) COORDINATION; PARTNERSHIPS.—In carrying 

14 out this section, the Secretary shall— 

15 (1) coordinate with the Secretaries; and 

16 (2) partner with administrators of firefighting 

17 agencies that protect communities from wildfires. 

18 SEC. 13. PREDICTING WHERE WILDFIRES WILL START. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries, in coordination 

20 with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and 

21 Space Administration, acting through the Director of the 

22 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Secretary of Energy, 

23 through the capabilities and assets located at the National 

24 Laboratories, shall establish and maintain a system to pre25 dict the locations of future wildfires for fire-prone areas 


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1 of the United States, to be known as the ‘‘Fire Danger 

2 Assessment System’’ (referred to in this section as the 

3 ‘‘System’’). 

4 (b) COMPONENTS.—The System shall use a combina5 tion of soil moisture levels, precipitation patterns, topog6 raphy, fuels growth and availability, ignition risks, and 

7 temperatures to calculate probabilities of wildfires igniting 

8 or burning in fire-prone areas of the United States. 

9 (c) USE.—Not later than May 1, 2019, the Secre10 taries shall use the System for purposes of developing any 

11 wildland fire potential forecasts. 

12 SEC. 14. STUDY ON AIRCRAFT OPERATING AT NIGHT. 

13 (a) STUDY.—Not later than September 30, 2019, the 

14 Secretaries shall conduct a study to determine the feasi15 bility of operating aircraft at night when managing 

16 wildland fires. 

17 (b) PARTNERSHIPS.—In carrying out this section, the 

18 Secretary may enter into a cooperative agreement with the 

19 Center of Excellence for Advanced Technology Aerial Fire20 fighting. 

21 SEC. 15. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 

22 The authority provided by this Act terminates on the 

23 date that is 10 years after the date of enactment of this 

24 Act. 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wildfire Management 

3 Technology Advancement Act of 2018’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

5 The purpose of this Act is to promote the use of the 

6 best available technology to enhance the effective and cost7 efficient response to wildfires— 

8 (1) to meet applicable protection objectives; and 

9 (2) to increase the safety of— 

10 (A) firefighters; and 

11 (B) the public. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

15 means— 

16 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; and 

17 (B) the Secretary of the Interior. 

18 (2) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec19 retary concerned’’ means— 

20 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re21 spect to activities under the Department of Agri22 culture; and 

23 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re24 spect to activities under the Department of the 

25 Interior. 


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1 SEC. 4. UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS. 

2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘un3 manned aircraft’’ and ‘‘unmanned aircraft system’’ have 

4 the meanings given those terms in section 331 of the FAA 

5 Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 40101 

6 note; Public Law 112–95). 

7 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later than 

8 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec9 retary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary 

10 of Agriculture, shall establish a research, development, and 

11 testing program, or expand an applicable existing program, 

12 to assess unmanned aircraft system technologies, including 

13 optionally piloted aircraft, across the full range of wildland 

14 fire management operations in order to accelerate the de15 ployment and integration of those technologies into the op16 erations of the Secretaries. 

17 (c) EXPANDING USE OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYS18 TEMS ON WILDFIRES.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

19 of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries, in coordination 

20 with State wildland firefighting agencies and other relevant 

21 Federal agencies, shall enter into an agreement under which 

22 the Secretaries shall develop consistent protocols and plans 

23 for the use on wildland fires of unmanned aircraft system 

24 technologies, including for the development of real-time 

25 maps of the location of wildland fires. 


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1 SEC. 5. LOCATION SYSTEMS FOR WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

3 of enactment of this Act, subject to the availability of appro4 priations, the Secretaries, in coordination with State 

5 wildland firefighting agencies, shall jointly develop and op6 erate a tracking system (referred to in this section as the 

7 ‘‘system’’) to remotely locate the positions of fire resources, 

8 including, at a minimum, any fire resources assigned to 

9 Federal type 1 wildland fire incident management teams. 

10 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The system shall— 

11 (1) use technology available to the Secretaries to 

12 remotely track the location of an active resource, such 

13 as a Global Positioning System; 

14 (2) depict the location of each fire resource on 

15 the applicable maps developed under section 4(c); and 

16 (3) operate continuously during the period for 

17 which any firefighting personnel are assigned to the 

18 applicable Federal wildland fire. 

19 (c) OPERATION.—The Secretary concerned shall— 

20 (1) before commencing operation of the system— 

21 (A) conduct not fewer than 2 pilot projects 

22 relating to the system; and 

23 (B) review the results of those pilot projects; 

24 and 


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1 (2) conduct training, and maintain a culture, 

2 such that an employee, officer, or contractor shall not 

3 rely on the system for safety. 

4 SEC. 6. WILDLAND FIRE DECISION SUPPORT. 

5 (a) PROTOCOL.—To the maximum extent practicable, 

6 the Secretaries shall ensure that wildland fire management 

7 activities conducted by the Secretaries, or conducted jointly 

8 by the Secretaries and State wildland firefighting agencies, 

9 achieve compliance with applicable incident management 

10 objectives in a manner that— 

11 (1) minimizes firefighter exposure to the lowest 

12 level necessary; and 

13 (2) reduces overall costs of wildfire incidents. 

14 (b) WILDFIRE DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries, in coordina16 tion with State wildland firefighting agencies, shall 

17 establish a system to track and monitor decisions 

18 made by the Secretaries or State wildland firefighting 

19 agencies in managing wildfires. 

20 (2) COMPONENTS.—The system established under 

21 paragraph (1) shall be able to alert the Secretaries 

22 if— 

23 (A) unusual costs are incurred; 

24 (B) an action to be carried out would like25 ly— 


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1 (i) endanger the safety of a firefighter; 

2 or 

3 (ii) be ineffective in meeting an appli4 cable suppression or protection goal; or 

5 (C) a decision regarding the management of 

6 a wildfire deviates from— 

7 (i) an applicable protocol established 

8 by the Secretaries, including the require9 ment under subsection (a); or 

10 (ii) an applicable spatial fire manage11 ment plan or fire management plan of the 

12 Secretary concerned. 

13 SEC. 7. SMOKE PROJECTIONS FROM ACTIVE WILDLAND 

14 FIRES. 

15 The Secretaries shall establish a program, to be known 

16 as the ‘‘Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response 

17 Program’’, under which the Secretary concerned— 

18 (1) to the maximum extent practicable, shall as19 sign a team of air resource advisors to a type 1 inci20 dent management team managing a wildland fire; 

21 and 

22 (2) may assign a team of air resource advisors 

23 to a type 2 incident management team managing a 

24 wildland fire. 


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1 SEC. 8. FIREFIGHTER INJURIES DATABASE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(a) of the Federal Fire 

3 Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2208(a)) 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, categorized 

6 by the type of fire’’ after ‘‘such injuries and deaths’’; 

7 and 

8 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘activities;’’ 

9 and inserting the following: ‘‘activities, including— 

10 ‘‘(A) all injuries sustained by a firefighter 

11 and treated by a doctor, categorized by the type 

12 of firefighter; 

13 ‘‘(B) all deaths sustained while undergoing 

14 a pack test or preparing for a work capacity; 

15 ‘‘(C) all injuries or deaths resulting from 

16 vehicle accidents; and 

17 ‘‘(D) all injuries or deaths resulting from 

18 aircraft crashes;’’. 

19 (b) USE OF EXISTING DATA GATHERING AND ANAL20 YSIS ORGANIZATIONS.—Section 9(b)(3) of the Federal Fire 

21 Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2208(b)(3)) 

22 is amended, by inserting ‘‘, including the Center for Fire23 fighter Injury Research and Safety Trends’’ after ‘‘public 

24 and private’’. 


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1 (c) MEDICAL PRIVACY OF FIREFIGHTERS.—Section 9 

2 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 

3 U.S.C. 2208) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(e) MEDICAL PRIVACY OF FIREFIGHTERS.—The col5 lection, storage, and transfer of any medical data collected 

6 under this section shall be conducted in accordance with— 

7 ‘‘(1) the privacy regulations promulgated under 

8 section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability 

9 and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320d–2 

10 note; Public Law 104–191); and 

11 ‘‘(2) other applicable regulations, including parts 

12 160, 162, and 164 of title 45, Code of Federal Regula13 tions (as in effect on the date of enactment of this 

14 subsection).’’. 

15 SEC. 9. RAPID RESPONSE EROSION DATABASE. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries, in consultation 

17 with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and 

18 Space Administration, shall establish and maintain a data19 base, to be known as the ‘‘Rapid Response Erosion Data20 base’’ (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Database’’). 

21 (b) OPEN-SOURCE DATABASE.— 

22 (1) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretaries shall make 

23 the Database (including the original source code)— 

24 (A) web-based; and 

25 (B) available without charge. 


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1 (2) COMPONENTS.—The Database shall provide 

2 for— 

3 (A) the automatic incorporation of spatial 

4 data relating to vegetation, soils, and elevation 

5 into an applicable map created by the Secretary 

6 concerned that depicts the changes in land-cover 

7 and soil properties caused by a wildland fire; 

8 and 

9 (B) the generation of a composite map that 

10 can be used by the Secretary concerned to model 

11 the effectiveness of treatments in the burned area 

12 to prevent flooding, erosion, and landslides under 

13 a range of weather scenarios. 

14 (c) USE.—The Secretary concerned shall use the Data15 base, as applicable, in developing recommendations for 

16 emergency stabilization treatments or modifications to 

17 drainage structures to protect values-at-risk following a 

18 wildland fire. 

19 (d) COORDINATION.—The Secretaries may share the 

20 Database, and any results generated in using the Database, 

21 with any State or unit of local government. 

22 SEC. 10. PREDICTING WHERE WILDFIRES WILL START. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries, in consultation 

24 with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and 

25 Space Administration and the Secretary of Energy, through 


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1 the capabilities and assets located at the National Labora2 tories, shall establish and maintain a system to predict the 

3 locations of future wildfires for fire-prone areas of the 

4 United States. 

5 (b) COOPERATION; COMPONENTS.—The system estab6 lished under subsection (a) shall— 

7 (1) be based on, and enhance, similar systems in 

8 existence on the date of enactment of this Act, includ9 ing the Fire Danger Assessment System; and 

10 (2) use a combination of soil moisture levels, pre11 cipitation patterns, topography, fuels growth and 

12 availability, ignition risks, and temperatures to cal13 culate probabilities of wildfires igniting or burning in 

14 fire-prone areas of the United States. 

15 (c) USE IN FORECASTS.—Not later than 1 year after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall use 

17 the system established under subsection (a), to the max18 imum extent practicable, for purposes of developing any 

19 wildland fire potential forecasts. 

20 (d) COORDINATION.—The Secretaries may share the 

21 system established under subsection (a), and any results 

22 generated in using the system, with any State or unit of 

23 local government. 


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1 SEC. 11. STUDY ON AIRCRAFT OPERATING AT NIGHT. 

2 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

3 enactment of this Act, subject to the availability of appro4 priations, the Secretaries shall conduct a study to determine 

5 the feasibility of operating aircraft at night when managing 

6 wildland fires. 

7 (b) PARTNERSHIPS.—In conducting the study under 

8 subsection (a), the Secretaries may enter into a partnership 

9 with any State center of excellence with experience relating 

10 to aerial firefighting. 

11 SEC. 12. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 

12 The authority provided by this Act terminates on the 

13 date that is 10 years after the date of enactment of this 

14 Act. 


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pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 712 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2290 

A BILL 

To improve wildfire management operations and 

the best available technology. the safety of firefighters and communities with 

DECEMBER 4, 2018 

Reported with an amendment 


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