Prineville, Ore. – A newly ordered federal reorganization of wildfire response agencies — including the creation of a U.S. Wildland Fire Service — has been shared with Crook County officials, though local fire managers say no operational changes are expected in Central Oregon during the 2026 fire season.
In an email circulated by county officials last week and obtained by the Prineville Review, Crook County Natural Resources Policy Coordinator Tim Deboodt relayed information discussed during a Wednesday meeting concerning a major restructuring within the U.S. Department of the Interior. The reorganization formally establishes the U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS), consolidating multiple federal wildfire programs under a single national command structure.
“At our meeting on Wednesday, it was announced that the Department of Interior, which houses BLM, USFWS, National Parks, etc., would be combining all their fire fighting infrastructure into a single wildland fire fighting service,” Deboodt wrote in his email to county officials.
The federal action stems from Secretary’s Order No. 3448, signed Jan. 12, 2026, which creates USWFS within the Office of the Secretary of the Interior. Under the order, wildfire programs currently housed within the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs are consolidated into the new service, unifying federal wildfire suppression, preparedness, and response operations.
The reorganization was first communicated internally by Ed Christopher, a senior fire management official with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in an email circulated to federal and regional officials who coordinate with state and local partners, including those in Central Oregon.
“The Department of the Interior has issued Secretary Order 3448… establishing the U.S. Wildland Fire Service to unify existing Bureau fire management programs under one organization,” Christopher wrote, calling the move a “historic change” for federal wildfire operations.
According to the order, Bureau Fire Directors, along with leadership from the Office of Wildland Fire and the Office of Aviation Services, will now report directly to the Director of USWFS. Fire personnel will be realigned under a single chain of command, with firefighters supervised exclusively by fire leadership rather than by individual land-management bureaus. A multi-month transition period is planned to allow overlapping authorities while the new service is operationalized.
For Central Oregon, Deboodt emphasized that the federal restructuring is not expected to affect local firefighting resources or staffing levels in the near term. Citing remarks made during the meeting by Kyle Hensley, Central Oregon Area Manager for the Prineville District of the Bureau of Land Management, Deboodt wrote that “there are not any anticipated changes in personnel and fire fighting activities in central Oregon for 2026 resulting from this reorganization.”
The email also clarified that the U.S. Forest Service is not included in the consolidation. Because the Forest Service operates under the U.S. Department of Agriculture rather than the Department of the Interior, participation would require separate legislative action. “As noted during the meeting, the Forest Service is not a part of this effort,” Deboodt wrote.
While the order does not alter state or county wildfire authority, it reshapes the federal side of wildfire response at a time when Crook County and surrounding Central Oregon communities regularly coordinate with federal agencies during fire season, particularly in areas where federal, state, tribal, and private lands intersect.
Secretary’s Order 3448 cites escalating wildfire risks to public safety, infrastructure, and national security, as well as longstanding challenges tied to fragmented command structures, inconsistent pay classifications, and interagency coordination. The order also directs Interior officials to standardize compensation, job classifications, and retirement structures across the unified wildfire workforce — changes long sought by firefighters and labor advocates.
Despite the scope of the reorganization, the order explicitly states that it does not create new legal rights or alter existing wildfire laws, describing the directive as an internal management action designed to implement prior executive and departmental reforms.
“My focus remains on fire management stability, minimal disruption to field operations, and ensuring firefighters remain top priority,” Christopher wrote in his email, noting that additional details would be shared as the transition progresses.
Deboodt said the information was shared for situational awareness as wildfire planning and interagency coordination continue ahead of the 2026 fire season.
Mr. Alderman is an investigative journalist specializing in government transparency, non-profit accountability, consumer protection, and is a subject matter expert on Oregon’s public records and meetings laws. As a former U.S. Army Military Police Officer, he brings a disciplined investigative approach to his reporting that has frequently exposed ethics violations, financial mismanagement, and transparency failures by public officials and agencies.
