DOI FLAME Wildfire Suppression Reserve Fund
Dept. of Interior – Wildland Fire Management
Wildfire-Specific Spending: Yes
Wildfire Activities Funded: “Response”
Authorization:
P.L. 111–88
65
TOTAL APPROPRIATIONS (IN MIL)
FY2015 – FY2017
Description
The FLAME (Federal Land Assistance, Management, and Enhancement Act Account) Wildfire Suppression Reserve Fund, first funded in FY2010, served as a reserve for when federal funds for wildfire suppression and emergency response from the Department of Interior (DOI) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Wildland Fire Management (WFM) accounts were exhausted. It was jointly funded through the USFS and DOI. Unlike the current Wildfire Suppression Operations Reserve Fund, FLAME funds could also be used to cover high-cost wildfires meeting specific criteria (e.g. covering 300 or more acres), in addition to more generally replenish federal wildfire funds when previously appropriated accounts were set to be fully obligated within 30 days. The FLAME account last received appropriations through DOI in FY2017 and through USFS in FY2018.Additional Program Notes & TCS Insights
FLAME funding neither incentivized cost containment in wildfire suppression nor prevented the need for future budget transfers or supplemental appropriations. It merely provided another funding source from which agencies could draw additional funding, rather than creating, instead of a sustainable solution to the wildfire challenge. FLAME was not effective in stopping fire borrowing, where USDA and DOI would reallocate funds from other accounts to meet immediate wildfire suppression costs. DOI exhausted its FLAME account in FY2012, FY2013, and FY2016 but only transferred funds from other accounts in FY2012 and FY2013.Appropriations
| Regular | Supplemental | IIJA | IRA | |
| FY2015 | 92,000,000 | — | — | — |
| FY2016 | 177,000,000 | — | — | — |
| FY2017 | 65,000,000 | — | — | — |
| FY2018 | — | — | — | — |
| FY2019 | — | — | — | — |
| FY2020 | — | — | — | — |
| FY2021 | — | — | — | — |
| FY2022 | — | — | — | — |
| FY2023 | — | — | — | |
| FY2024 | — | — | — | |
| FY2025 | — | — | ||
| FY2026 | — | — |
Last Updated: March 18, 2026
Received Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Funding: No
Received Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Funding: No