Volunteer Fire Assistance
Dept. of Agriculture – Forest Service – State and Private Forestry
Wildfire-Specific Spending: Yes
Wildfire Activities Funded: “Preparedness”
Authorization:
P.L. 95-313
U.S.C: 16 U.S.C. §2106
209
TOTAL APPROPRIATIONS (IN MIL)
FY2017 – FY2026
Description
The Volunteer Fire Assistance program, also known as Rural Fire Capacity, provides technical assistance and cost-share grants of up to 50% to volunteer fire departments that cover communities with populations of 10,000 or fewer people. According to the U.S. Forest Service, grants focus on “increasing the capacity of local fire departments to provide initial attacks on wildfires” by providing training and funding to purchase equipment.Appropriations
| Regular | Supplemental | IIJA | IRA | |
| FY2015 | 13,000,000 | — | — | — |
| FY2016 | 13,000,000 | — | — | — |
| FY2017 | 15,000,000 | — | — | — |
| FY2018 | 16,000,000 | — | — | — |
| FY2019 | 17,000,000 | — | — | — |
| FY2020 | 18,000,000 | — | — | — |
| FY2021 | 19,000,000 | — | — | — |
| FY2022 | 20,000,000 | — | 4,000,000 | — |
| FY2023 | 21,000,000 | — | 4,000,000 | |
| FY2024 | 21,000,000 | — | 4,000,000 | |
| FY2025 | 21,000,000 | 4,000,000 | ||
| FY2026 | 21,000,000 | 4,000,000 |
Last Updated: March 20, 2026
Received Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Funding: Yes – Existing
Received Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Funding: No
*In FY2021, the U.S. Forest Service implemented a new budget line item for salaries and expenses across all Forest Service programs – costs that had previously been incorporated into each program’s budget line item. This re-structuring makes it difficult to compare program spending before and after FY2021.