IIB 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4866 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 30, 2024 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation 

AN ACT 

To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administrator to improve fire weather and 

fire environment forecasting, detection, and local collaboration, and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fire Weather Develop3 ment Act of 2024’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FIRE WEATHER FORECASTING AND DETECTION. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the Na6 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shall es7 tablish a program (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Pro8 gram’’) to improve fire weather and fire environment fore9 casting, detection, and delivery of products or services 

10 through collaboration with Federal and State agencies or 

11 departments, local emergency mangers, and relevant enti12 ties. 

13 (b) GOALS.—The goals of the Program shall be to 

14 develop and improve accurate fire weather and fire envi15 ronment forecasts and warnings in order to reduce loss 

16 of life, reduce injuries, protect property, and reduce dam17 age to the economy from wildfires. The Program shall seek 

18 to improve the assessment of fire weather and fire environ19 ments, the understanding and prediction of wildfires, and 

20 the communications regarding such assessments with 

21 State and local emergency officials in a timely and stream22 lined fashion, with a focus on improving the following: 

23 (1) The prediction of ignition, intensification 

24 and spread of wildfires. 

25 (2) The observation and monitoring of fire 

26 weather and fire environments. 


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1 (3) The forecast and communication of smoke 

2 dispersion from wildfires. 

3 (4) Information dissemination and risk commu4 nication to develop more effective watch and warning 

5 products relating to wildfires. 

6 (5) The early detection of wildfires, including 

7 pre-ignition analysis and ground condition character8 izations. 

9 (6) The development, testing, and deployment 

10 of novel tools and techniques related to under11 standing, monitoring, and predicting fire weather 

12 and fire environments. 

13 (7) The understanding and association of cli14 mate change and its impacts on fire weather and 

15 fire environments. 

16 (8) The unique characteristics, including obser17 vation or modeling requirements, related to fires at 

18 the wildland-urban interface. 

19 (9) The forecasting and understanding of the 

20 impacts of prescribed burns (as such term is defined 

21 in section 2 of the Prescribed Burn Approval Act of 

22 2016 (16 U.S.C. 551c–1 note)). 

23 (c) COLLABORATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS.—In de24 veloping the Program required under this section, the Ad25 ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Apr 30, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4866.RFS H4866

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1 ministration shall solicit and take into consideration input 

2 from the weather industry, such academic entities as the 

3 Administrator considers appropriate, and other relevant 

4 stakeholders. 

5 (d) ACTIVITIES.—To achieve the goals specified in 

6 subsection (b), the Administrator of the National Oceanic 

7 and Atmospheric Administration may conduct research, 

8 development, testing, demonstration, and operational 

9 transition activities related to fire weather and fire envi10 ronments, including regarding the following: 

11 (1) Tools and services to inform, support, and 

12 complement active land management, local emer13 gency personnel, the United States Forest Service, 

14 and State, local, and Tribal entities during their re15 sponse and mitigation efforts. 

16 (2) Sensing technologies, such as infrared, 

17 microwave, and active sensors suitable for potential 

18 deployment on spacecraft, aircraft, and unmanned 

19 aircraft systems, to improve the monitoring and 

20 forecasting of fire fuel and active wildfires, wildfire 

21 behavior models and forecasts, mapping efforts, and 

22 the prediction of wildfires and the impacts of such. 

23 (3) Grid-based assessments and outlooks of fuel 

24 moisture and danger levels. 


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1 (4) Social and behavior sciences related to fire 

2 weather and fire environment warning products. 

3 (5) Advanced satellite detection products cou4 pled with atmosphere and fire weather modeling sys5 tems. 

6 (6) Education and training to expand the num7 ber of students and researchers in areas of study 

8 and research related to wildfires, fire weather, and 

9 fire environments. 

10 (7) Modeling systems to link long-term climate 

11 predictions to localized or general land management 

12 decisions. 

13 (8) Communication and outreach to commu14 nities, energy utilities, owners and operators of crit15 ical infrastructure, and other relevant stakeholders 

16 regarding fire weather and fire environment risk. 

17 (9) Stewardship and dissemination, to the ex18 tent practicable, of National Oceanic and Atmos19 pheric Administration scientific data and related 

20 products and services in formats meeting shared 

21 standards to enhance the interoperability, usability, 

22 and accessibility of such data in order to better meet 

23 the needs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

24 Administration, other Federal agencies, and relevant 

25 stakeholders. 


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1 (10) Improvement of spatial and temporal reso2 lution observations. 

3 (11) Any other topic or activity the Adminis4 trator determines relevant. 

5 (e) NOVEL TOOLS FOR MONITORING AND PRE6 DICTION.—The Administrator of the National Oceanic 

7 and Atmospheric Administration, in consultation with the 

8 heads of the agencies specified in section 3, or other ap9 propriate stakeholders, including commercial partners, 

10 shall develop novel tools and technologies to support the 

11 activities of the Program and which may be applied to 

12 broader wildland fire research, monitoring, and mitigation 

13 activities, as practicable and appropriate. 

14 (f) EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH.—The Administrator of 

15 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

16 shall collaborate with and support the non-Federal 

17 wildland fire research community, which includes institu18 tions of higher education, private sector entities, non19 governmental organizations, and other relevant stake20 holders, by making funds available through competitive 

21 grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. 

22 (g) COMMERCIAL DATA.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ad25 ministrator of the National Oceanic and AtmosVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Apr 30, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4866.RFS H4866

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1 pheric Administration, in consultation with the 

2 heads of other Federal agencies and relevant stake3 holders, may enter into contracts with one or more 

4 private sector entities to obtain additional airborne 

5 and space-based data and observations that may en6 hance or supplement the understanding, monitoring, 

7 and prediction, of fire weather and fire environ8 ments, and the relevant Program activities under 

9 this section. 

10 (2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out activities 

11 under paragraph (1), the Administrator of the Na12 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall 

13 consult with private sector entities through the Na14 tional Advisory Committee on Wildfires under sec15 tion 4 to identify needed tools and data that can be 

16 best provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

17 Administration satellites and are most beneficial to 

18 wildfire and smoke detection and monitoring. 

19 (h) NONDUPLICATION.—To the maximum extent 

20 practicable, the Administrator of the National Oceanic 

21 and Atmospheric Administration shall consult with the 

22 National Interagency Fire Center, including the Joint Fire 

23 Science Program, to avoid duplication of activities under 

24 this section and ensure the Administration’s focus on 


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1 unique research activities best suited for transition to op2 erations. 

3 (i) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 

5 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

6 shall— 

7 (A) assess the role and potential benefits 

8 of unmanned aircraft systems to improve data 

9 collection in support of fire weather and fire en10 vironment modeling, meteorological observa11 tions, predictions, and forecasts; 

12 (B) identify objectives for testing such sys13 tems’ use for obtaining fire weather and fire en14 vironment observations, and other relevant ac15 tivities; and 

16 (C) transition unmanned aircraft systems 

17 technologies from research to operations as the 

18 Administrator considers appropriate. 

19 (2) BRIEFING.—Not later than 270 days after 

20 the date of enactment of the Act, the Administrator 

21 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis22 tration shall brief the appropriate committees of 

23 Congress on the activities under paragraph (1). 

24 (3) PILOT PROGRAMS.—Not later than 18 

25 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 


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1 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At2 mospheric Administration may conduct pilot pro3 grams of unmanned aircraft systems for fire weather 

4 and fire environment observations, including relating 

5 to the following: 

6 (A) Testing of unmanned aircraft systems 

7 in approximations of real-world scenarios. 

8 (B) Assessment of the utility of meteoro9 logical data collected from fire response and as10 sessment aircraft. 

11 (C) Input into appropriate models of col12 lected data to predict fire behavior, including 

13 coupled atmosphere and fire models. 

14 (D) Collection of best management prac15 tices for deployment of unmanned aircraft sys16 tems for fire weather and fire environment ob17 servations. 

18 (4) PROHIBITION.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

20 under subparagraphs (B) and (C), the Adminis21 trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

22 Administration may not procure any unmanned 

23 aircraft system that is manufactured or assem24 bled by an entity in a foreign country of con25 cern. 


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1 (B) EXEMPTION.—The prohibition under 

2 subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the Admin3 istrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos4 pheric Administration if the Administrator de5 termines, in consultation with the Secretary of 

6 Homeland Security, that the procurement of an 

7 unmanned aircraft system is necessary for the 

8 sole purpose of marine or atmospheric science 

9 or management. 

10 (C) WAIVER.—The Administrator of the 

11 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra12 tion may waive the prohibition under subpara13 graph (A) on a case-by-case basis— 

14 (i) with the approval of the Secretary 

15 of Homeland Security; and 

16 (ii) upon written or electronic notifica17 tion to appropriate committees of Congress 

18 not later than 30 days after any such waiv19 er. 

20 (5) AIRSPACE OPERATIONS SYSTEM.—The Ad21 ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos22 pheric Administration, in cooperation with the Ad23 ministrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 

24 Administration, shall utilize the capabilities of un25 manned aircraft systems as appropriate for fire 


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1 weather and fire environment observations, and may 

2 use a wildfire airspace operations system that ac3 counts for piloted aircraft, unmanned aircraft sys4 tems, and other new and emerging capabilities after 

5 such airspace operations system is developed and de6 termined ready for operational use by the Adminis7 trator of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad8 ministration. 

9 (6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

10 There is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 

11 for fiscal year 2025 to carry out this subsection. 

12 (j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON14 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con15 gress’’ means the Committee on Science, Space, and 

16 Technology and the Committee on Homeland Secu17 rity of the House of Representatives and the Com18 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

19 and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov20 ernmental Affairs of the Senate. 

21 (2) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 

22 ‘‘critical infrastructure’’ has the meaning given such 

23 term in section 1016(e) of Public Law 107–56 (42 

24 U.S.C. 5195c(e)). 


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1 (3) FOREIGN COUNTRY OF CONCERN.—The 

2 term ‘‘foreign country of concern’’ has the meaning 

3 given such term in section 9901 of the William M. 

4 (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization 

5 Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (15 U.S.C. 4651). 

6 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

7 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

8 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High9 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

10 (5) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM.—The term 

11 ‘‘unmanned aircraft system’’ has the meaning given 

12 such term in section 44801 of title 49, United 

13 States Code. 

14 (6) WEATHER INDUSTRY.—The term ‘‘weather 

15 industry’’ has the meaning given such term in sec16 tion 2 of the Weather Research and Forecasting In17 novation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8501). 

18 SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON 

19 WILDFIRES. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 

21 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the 

22 Office of Science and Technology Policy shall establish an 

23 interagency coordinating committee to be known as the 

24 ‘‘Interagency Coordinating Committee on Wildfires’’ (in 

25 this section referred to as the ‘‘Committee’’). The chair 


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1 of the Committee shall be the Administrator of the Na2 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

3 (b) PURPOSE.—The Committee shall coordinate the 

4 development of accurate and timely wildfire forecasting, 

5 detection, monitoring, and delivery of related products or 

6 services that best assist State and local emergency officials 

7 while avoiding duplication of activities. 

8 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—In addition to the chair, the 

9 Committee shall be composed of the heads or appropriate 

10 designees of the following program agencies: 

11 (1) The Federal Emergency Management Agen12 cy. 

13 (2) The United States Fire Administration. 

14 (3) The United States Forest Service. 

15 (4) The National Aeronautics and Space Ad16 ministration. 

17 (5) The Department of the Interior. 

18 (6) The Department of Agriculture. 

19 (7) The United States Geological Survey. 

20 (8) The Office of Science and Technology Pol21 icy. 

22 (9) Any other Federal department or agency 

23 the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

24 Policy considers appropriate. 


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1 (d) STRATEGIC PLAN.—Not later than one year after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Committee shall 

3 submit to Congress a strategic plan for the Program that 

4 includes the following: 

5 (1) A description of short-term, mid-term, and 

6 long-term objectives to achieve the purpose specified 

7 in subsection (b). 

8 (2) A description of how agencies specified in 

9 subsection (c) will collaborate with stakeholders and 

10 take into account stakeholder needs and rec11 ommendations in developing such objectives. 

12 (3) A description of existing and new observa13 tional and data infrastructure needed to accomplish 

14 such objectives. 

15 (4) A description of the role of each such agen16 cy in achieving such objectives. 

17 (5) Guidance regarding how the Committee’s 

18 recommendations are best used in climate adapta19 tion planning for Federal, State, local, Tribal, and 

20 territorial entities. 

21 (e) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS.—The heads of 

22 agencies specified in subsection (c) may enter into one or 

23 more interagency agreements providing for cooperation 

24 and collaboration in the development of wildfire fore25 casting, detection, and monitoring tools, instruments, 


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1 technologies, and research to accomplish the purpose de2 scribed in subsection (b). 

3 (f) COLLABORATION.—The head of each agency spec4 ified in subsection (c) shall, to the extent practicable, in5 crease engagement and cooperation with international, 

6 academic, State, and local communities regarding the in7 frastructure, data, and scientific research necessary to 

8 best advance the forecasting, detection, and monitoring of 

9 and preparation for wildfires. 

10 SEC. 4. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON WILDFIRES. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

13 the submission of the strategic plan required by sec14 tion 3(d), the Director of the Office of Science and 

15 Technology Policy shall establish a national advisory 

16 committee to be known as the ‘‘National Advisory 

17 Committee on Wildfires’’ (in this section referred to 

18 as the ‘‘Advisory Committee’’). The Advisory Com19 mittee shall consist of not fewer than seven and not 

20 more than 15 members who are qualified to provide 

21 advice regarding wildfire forecasting, detection, mon22 itoring, and delivery of related products or services, 

23 including from the following entities: 

24 (A) Research and academic institutions. 


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1 (B) Public communication or broadcast en2 tities. 

3 (C) Emergency management agencies. 

4 (D) State, local, or Tribal governments. 

5 (E) The National Association of State For6 esters. 

7 (F) Business communities. 

8 (G) Other entities as designated by the Di9 rector of the Office of Science and Technology 

10 Policy. 

11 (2) PROHIBITION.—Members of the Advisory 

12 Committee may not be employees of the Federal 

13 Government. 

14 (b) ASSESSMENT.—The Advisory Committee shall 

15 offer assessments and recommendations relating to the 

16 following: 

17 (1) Tailored forecasting, detection, and moni18 toring products and tools. 

19 (2) Communication and delivery methods of 

20 wildfire forecasting, detection, and monitoring infor21 mation. 

22 (3) Opportunities to streamline Federal fore23 casting, monitoring, and detection information to 

24 local emergency personnel and communities. 


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1 (4) The management, coordination, implemen2 tation, and activities of the Interagency Coordi3 nating Committee on Wildfires under section 3. 

4 (5) The effectiveness of the Interagency Coordi5 nating Committee on Wildfires in meeting its pur6 poses. 

7 (c) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Advisory Com8 mittee shall serve without compensation. 

9 (d) REPORTS.—Not less frequently than biennially, 

10 the Advisory Committee shall report to the Director of the 

11 Office of Science and Technology Policy on the assess12 ments carried out under subsection (b) and its rec13 ommendations for ways to improve the coordination and 

14 dissemination of wildfire forecasts, warnings, and detec15 tion and monitoring information. 

16 (e) CHARTER.—Notwithstanding section 1013(b)(2) 

17 of title 5, United States Code, the Advisory Committee 

18 shall not be required to file a charter subsequent to its 

19 initial charter, filed under section 1008(c) of such title, 

20 before the termination date specified in subsection (f) of 

21 this section. 

22 (f) TERMINATION.—The Advisory Committee shall 

23 terminate on September 30, 2028. 

24 (g) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—An Advisory Com25 mittee member shall recuse himself or herself from any 


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1 Advisory Committee activity in which he or she has an 

2 actual pecuniary interest. 

3 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF FIRE WEATHER TESTBED. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Na5 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall es6 tablish a fire weather testbed to enable engagement across 

7 the Federal Government, State and local governments, 

8 academia, private and federally funded research labora9 tories, the private sector, and end-users in order to evalu10 ate the accuracy and usability of technology, models, fire 

11 weather products and services, and other research to accel12 erate the implementation, transition to operations, and use 

13 of new capabilities by the National Oceanic and Atmos14 pheric Administration, Federal and land management 

15 agencies, and other relevant stakeholders. 

16 (b) RESOURCES.—In carrying out this section, the 

17 Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

18 Administration may not transfer or reprogram any funds, 

19 detail any personnel, or make use of any infrastructure 

20 from cooperative institutes of the National Oceanic and 

21 Atmospheric Administration in existence as of the date of 

22 the enactment of this Act for the fire weather testbed es23 tablished under subsection (a). 


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1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated $4,000,000 for each of fis3 cal years 2025 through 2028 to carry out this section. 

4 SEC. 6. INCIDENT METEOROLOGIST WORKFORCE. 

5 (a) WORKFORCE AND TRAINING ASSESSMENT.—Not 

6 later than six months after the date of the enactment of 

7 this Act, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 

8 Atmospheric Administration shall submit to the Com9 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

10 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

11 Science, and Transportation of the Senate the results of 

12 an assessment of National Weather Service workforce and 

13 training challenges for Incident Meteorologists, and a 

14 roadmap for overcoming such challenges. Such assessment 

15 shall take into consideration information technology sup16 port, logistical and administrative operations, anticipated 

17 weather and climate conditions, and feedback from rel18 evant stakeholders, and shall include, to the maximum ex19 tent practicable, an identification by the National Weather 

20 Service of the following: 

21 (1) The expected number of Incident Meteorolo22 gists needed over the next five years. 

23 (2) Potential hiring authorities necessary to 

24 overcome any identified workforce and training chal25 lenges. 


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1 (3) Alternative services or assistance options 

2 the National Weather Service could provide to meet 

3 operational needs. 

4 (b) OVERTIME PAY.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any premium pay for serv6 ices performed by Incident Meteorologists of the Na7 tional Weather Service that are determined by the 

8 Secretary of Commerce to be primarily related to 

9 emergency wildland fire suppression activities shall 

10 be disregarded in calculating the aggregate of such 

11 employee’s basic pay and premium pay for purposes 

12 of a limitation under section 5547 of title 5, United 

13 States Code, or under any other provision of law. 

14 (2) RATES.—Section 5542(a)(5) of title 5, 

15 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘, the 

16 National Weather Service,’’ after ‘‘Interior’’. 

17 SEC. 7. RESEARCH ON WILDLAND FIRE COMMUNICATIONS 

18 AND INFORMATION DISSEMINATION. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

20 (1) PUBLIC SAFETY RESEARCH.—Not later 

21 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this 

22 Act, the Director, acting through the head of the 

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1 vision and technology manufacturers, shall carry out 

2 research on the following: 

3 (A) Public safety communication coordina4 tion standards among Federal, State, Tribal, 

5 and local wildland firefighters, fire management 

6 response officials, and member agencies. 

7 (B) Improving and integrating existing 

8 communications systems to transmit secure 

9 real-time data, alerts, and advisories to and 

10 from fire management response officials and 

11 wildland firefighters. 

12 (2) FIELD TESTING AND MEASUREMENT OF IN13 FORMATION DISSEMINATION AND TECHNOLOGY.— 

14 The Public Safety and Communications Research 

15 Division, in consultation with the Fire Research Di16 vision and member agencies, shall conduct both live 

17 and virtual field testing of equipment, software, and 

18 other technologies to determine current times of in19 formation dissemination and develop standards for 

20 the delivery of useful and secure real-time data 

21 among member agencies, fire management response 

22 officials, and wildland firefighters, based on findings 

23 from research under paragraph (1). 

24 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall develop 

2 and publish recommendations to improve public safe3 ty communication coordination standards among 

4 wildland first responders and fire management re5 sponse officials. 

6 (2) TRANSMITTAL.—The Director shall trans7 mit the recommendations under paragraph (1) to 

8 the Office of Management and Budget and the Of9 fice of Science and Technology Policy for member 

10 agencies to implement. 

11 (3) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall sub13 mit to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

14 Technology of the House of Representatives 

15 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

16 Transportation of the Senate a report con17 taining the recommendations published under 

18 paragraph (1). 

19 (B) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 1 

20 year after the date of the publication of the Di21 rector’s recommendations under paragraph (1), 

22 the Comptroller General of the United States 

23 shall submit to the Committee on Science, 

24 Space, and Technology of the House of Rep25 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, 


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1 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a re2 port on the extent to which member agencies 

3 have implemented such recommendations. 

4 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

6 the Director of the National Institute of Standards 

7 and Technology. 

8 (2) MEMBER AGENCY.—The term ‘‘member 

9 agency’’ means a member agency of the National 

10 Interagency Fire Center, including the Bureau of In11 dian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, National 

12 Park Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

13 Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, For14 est Service, United States Fire Administration, and 

15 the Department of Defense. 

16 (3) WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER.—The term 

17 ‘‘wildland firefighter’’ means any person who partici18 pates in wildland firefighting activities. 

19 (4) FIRE MANAGEMENT RESPONSE OFFI20 CIALS.—The term ‘‘fire management response offi21 cials’’ means regional fire directors, deputy regional 

22 fire directors, agency officials who directly oversee 

23 fire operations, fire management officers, and indi24 viduals serving on incident management teams. 


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1 (5) TECHNOLOGY MANUFACTURERS.—The term 

2 ‘‘technology manufacturers’’ means private sector 

3 entities that manufacture communications tech4 nologies used by Federal, State, Tribal, or local 

5 wildland fire authorities. 

6 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) FIRE ENVIRONMENT.—The term ‘‘fire envi9 ronment’’ means— 

10 (A) the environmental conditions, such as 

11 soil moisture, vegetation, topography, snowpack, 

12 atmospheric temperature, moisture, and wind, 

13 that influence— 

14 (i) fuel and fire behavior; and 

15 (ii) smoke dispersion and transport; 

16 and 

17 (B) the associated environmental impacts 

18 occurring during and after fire events. 

19 (2) FIRE WEATHER.—The term ‘‘fire weather’’ 

20 means the weather conditions that influence the 

21 start, spread, character, or behavior of wildfires or 

22 fires at the wildland-urban interface and relevant 

23 meteorological and chemical phenomena, including 

24 air quality, smoke, and meteorological parameters 

25 such as relative humidity, air temperature, wind 


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1 speed and direction, and atmospheric composition 

2 and chemistry, including emissions and mixing 

3 heights. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 29, 2024. 

Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 

Clerk. 


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