The Senate unanimously passed Sen. Alex Padilla’s Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act of 2026, a bipartisan measure meant to make prescribed burns easier for states without wrecking their air-quality scores.
The California Democrat said the bill now goes to the House. It grew out of talks with colleagues from Utah and Oregon and cleared the Environment and Public Works Committee without dissent, with help from Chairwoman Shelley Moore Capito and Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse.
Padilla’s office says EPA rules have allowed prescribed fire to count as an “exceptional event” since 2016, but the agency has never approved one. States fear that lighting a planned burn to cut fuel will count against Clean Air Act goals even if the alternative is a larger wildfire.
“This bill creates a narrow, targeted pathway specifically for prescribed fire, while preserving existing air quality standards for other exceptional events.”
“California is no stranger to devastating wildfires — and we cannot afford to wait until the next fire starts to take action. We must ensure that communities across the state and country have the necessary resources to proactively prevent and mitigate these disasters,” said Senator Padilla. “Prescribed fire is one of the most effective tools we have to confront the growing impacts of the wildfire crisis. I am proud to see the Senate unanimously pass our bipartisan bill to help communities protect their land as they face growing threats of wildfires.”
On the floor, he said western fires are growing larger and more toxic. “Now, there’s no silver bullet for solving the wildfire crisis, but we know that prescribed fires — experience tells us and the data tells us — prescribed fire is one of the most effective tools in reducing hazardous fuels and preventing catastrophic wildfires.”
Unanimous Senate passage is unusual. It is still not law. The House has to take it up, and any final text will have to keep that narrow path from turning into a blanket waiver of air rules. The political bet is that a planned smoke day is better than an unplanned fire season.
