A $5.1 million investment that would create the first two ground-based professional wildland firefighting teams in Wyoming history is gaining momentum in the statehouse.
On Monday, the Wyoming House of Representatives passed House Bill 36, “Forestry division wildland fire modules.” The bill included an earmark of $2.7 million for one team of firefighters going into the day, but Buffalo Republican Rep. Marilyn Connolly brought an amendment that doubled the funding, providing enough to finance two crews — one each in the eastern and western sides of the state. The former Johnson County emergency management coordinator spoke about her experience being on the ground while wildfires were spreading and resources were lacking.
“We need some strike teams, we need engines — and they’re not available,” Connolly said on the House floor.
In 2024, wildfire charred major portions of the Powder River Basin near Connolly’s district. Both the Elk and House Draw fires ripped across the landscape that year, which ended as the second-biggest fire year in Wyoming history.
In the aftermath, the Joint Appropriations Committee named “wildfire response, prevention and management funding” as its top priority to help the Office of State Lands and Investments and State Forester Kelly Norris better prepare for the next big fire year. That might be upon them: Low-lying portions of Wyoming have been historically snow-free so far. Even as lawmakers debated the funding, conditions were ripe for a mid-winter wildfire.
