WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of the Interior is rolling out a two-pronged push to strengthen America’s wildfire defenses, announcing up to $20 million to help rural communities respond faster to fires while launching a new effort to train Native students for careers on the fire line.
On February 2, Interior said funding is now available through the Slip-on Tanker Pilot Program, which equips small and remote emergency agencies with modular tanker units that can quickly convert existing trucks, utility terrain vehicles, and other equipment into wildland fire engines. The program is aimed at communities of 50,000 people or fewer that face moderate to high wildfire risk.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the initiative is designed to give local departments practical tools to act before fires grow out of control, particularly as wildfires intensify across rural parts of the country.
Grant awards will range from $10,000 to $249,000, with up to $20 million available in this third round of funding. Applications must be submitted through grants.gov by March 23, 2026. Interior officials said the funding builds on earlier awards, including $5 million distributed in January to 97 local emergency response agencies.
The effort aligns with President Donald J. Trump’s directive to emphasize commonsense wildfire prevention and response and follows Interior’s recent steps toward establishing a new Wildland Fire Service. Officials said slip-on tanker units allow local agencies to deploy faster, use existing resources more efficiently, and better support interagency firefighting operations when large blazes erupt.
A day later, on February 3, Interior announced a separate partnership between the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education to prepare Native students for careers in wildland firefighting. The Native Youth Firefighter Training Program offers high school and post-secondary students hands-on instruction, mentorship, and technical training geared toward seasonal and permanent firefighting roles with tribal, federal, and state agencies.
Students from tribal schools in South Dakota, Montana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma are currently participating, with officials exploring future expansion through dual-enrollment opportunities at Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in New Mexico. Training is delivered through a mix of virtual instruction, mentorship, and web-based tools such as the Wildland Fire Learning Portal.
Interior officials said the program is intended to strengthen the wildfire workforce while creating clear school-to-career pathways for tribal youth, linking education directly to high-demand public safety jobs.
Together, the funding and training initiatives reflect Interior’s broader strategy to bolster wildfire readiness — pairing immediate investments in local response capacity with long-term workforce development as communities nationwide confront larger, more destructive fire seasons.
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