Significant Increase to DOI’s Fiscal 2026 Budget Request further Prioritizes Preparedness and Rapid Response
BELGRADE, Mont., June 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. (“Bridger”, “the Company” or “Bridger Aerospace”), (NASDAQ: BAER, BAERW), one of the nation’s largest aerial firefighting companies, today commented on the Executive Order to restructure our national wildland firefighting system.
Sam Davis, Bridger’s Chief Executive Officer stated, “Bridger was established with a mission of saving lives, property, and the environment from wildfires and we stand ready to support our federal and state customers as we seek to integrate the Order to enhance preparedness, respond more rapidly and save property and lives.”
The Executive Order prioritizes the immediate suppression of wildfires to protect communities and critical infrastructure. Included in the Executive Order is the establishment of a National Wildland Firefighting Task Force that will span all federal agencies, ease administrative burdens and refocus our national efforts on preparedness and aggressive Wildfire Suppression.
The Executive Order comes on the heels of the May 20, 2025 letter from the Chief of the US Forest Service to Regional Foresters, Station Directors, Deputy Chiefs and Washington Office Directors, which reiterated the need for direct attack wildfire mitigation. This letter states that the Forest Service will “focus on safe, aggressive initial attack,” and that “It is critical that we suppress fires as swiftly as possible to minimize the amount of fireline exposure and be ready for the next ignition. This means employing direct attack tactics when and where feasible to minimize fire size and time to containment when safe and practicable to do so.”
The U.S. Department of the Interior also recently issued its fiscal year 2026 budget for the new U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS) which calls for a more than three-fold increase in funding to $3.70 billion, as well as a Wildfire Suppression Operations Reserve Fund budget of $2.85 billion, for a total of $6.55 billion. The Budget request includes $1.39 billion for Suppression Operations compared to just $383,657 in each of the last two years.
Mr. Davis added, “This executive order marks a significant change in how we approach and fight wildfires as a country. The intent of the Executive Order is to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of wildland fire management operations, streamline procurement processes, and establish year-round readiness requirements. This commitment, on top of the 2026 budget for the new USWFS, will have a significant positive impact on the entire wildland fire community. Bridger commands a significant Air Attack fleet, including modern fire imaging and surveillance aircraft, and the world’s largest private Super Scooper fleet, and we are ready to do whatever is needed to support our state and federal customers.”
This Executive Order was released in advance of a summer predicted by the National Weather Service to be above average with a probability ranging from 33-70% across the entire contiguous US and most of Alaska. This follows an intense start to the year with fires ranging from Los Angeles, California to Ocean County, New Jersey contributing to just over 1 million acres burned nationally by wildfire to date. The fires in Los Angeles alone caused an estimate of greater than $250 billion in damage.
The full Executive Order can be viewed here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/06/empowering-commonsense-wildfire-prevention-and-response/ and the May 20, 2025 US Forest Service Letter is available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/IFS-Chief%27s_Letter_of_Intent_2025_Wildfire_Year.pdf. The U.S. Department of the Interior 2026 budget can be found at https://www.doi.gov/budget/appropriations/2026/highlights.
About Bridger Aerospace
Based in Belgrade, Montana, Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. is one of the nation’s largest aerial firefighting companies. Bridger provides aerial firefighting and wildfire management services to federal and state government agencies, including the United States Forest Service, across the nation, as well as internationally. More information about Bridger Aerospace is available at https://www.bridgeraerospace.com.
Investor Contacts
Alison Ziegler
Darrow Associates
201-220-2678
aziegler@darrowir.com
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