CONTACT:

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection:

CAL FIRE Duty PIO (916) 651-3473 Calfire.dutypio@fire.ca.gov

Nevada Division of Forestry – Wildland Fire Management:

Ron Bollier, State Fire Management Officer rbollier@forestry.gov

Northwest Compact:

Richard Olsen, NW Compact Chair richard_olsen@gov.nt.ca  

RELEASE DATE: September 5, 2025

CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA JOIN NORTHWEST COMPACT

California is excited to announce becoming a member of the Northwest Wildland Fire Protection Agreement (NW Compact).

The NW Compact was created in 1998 and is one of eight forest fire fighting Compacts currently operating across North America. The purpose of the NW Compact is to promote effective prevention, suppression, and control of forest fires in the Northwest wildland region of the United States and Western areas of Canada. It provides an efficient way for member states, provinces, and territories to cope with wildland fires that might be beyond the capabilities of a single member agency, through information sharing, technology and resource distribution.

The NW Compact is operated by member states, provinces and territories, who include:

And now, California and Nevada!

California’s landscapes face increasing wildfire threats due to climate change, invasive species, and population growth. In recent years, hotter temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and more frequent extreme wind events have intensified fire risk.

“California is proud to join forces with our northwestern neighbors to fight catastrophic wildfire. We’re all on the front lines of this worsening wildfire threat – and by joining our collective resources together, we will be even more effective in protecting our communities.” said Governor Gavin Newsom.

Nevada has experienced a dramatic increase in average annual acres burned from wildfires in the most recent 20 years. The acres burned have doubled to 450,000 acres per year, on average, largely attributed to invasive annual grasses, increased wildfire fuel loads, and the prevalence of human-caused ignitions. This year, the Cottonwood Peak Fire burned over 132,000 acres alone. Nevada is joining the Northwest and Great Plains Compacts to bolster wildfire response resources in- and out-of-state in the most critical times of need. These compacts streamline the resource ordering and response to reduce response times and increase resources from a broader set of partners across the Nation.

”Safe and effective wildfire response is built on a foundation of partnerships between local, state and federal entities, alongside the support of private contractors. With the ever-increasing wildfire occurrence across the United States, especially in the West, these partnerships become even more essential,” stated Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo. “Partnerships are the Nevada way and these compacts offer additional tools for greater protection of citizens, visitors, properties and landscapes across this great state."

Both states have a long history with several compact members already through separate mutual aid agreements, making this a great opportunity for them to build on old relationships and create new ones as well.

The two states’ decision to join the NW compact was due to the need for additional firefighting resources among agency members. The compact enables the exchange of resources with other compact members to improve wildfire response capacity in California and Nevada. It will allow wildland firefighters from these states to gain experience by assisting with wildland firefighting efforts on the North American continent while also allowing the state to call on assistance from other members in the compact, thereby benefiting all compact members.

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