New York Times: “In July, as wildfires tore through the American West, President Biden met with the region’s governors to find better ways to battle the flames. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California requested use of military satellites that are designed to warn of missile attacks, calling the orbital fleet ‘a game changer’ for spotting and fighting wildfires. Mr. Biden promised to help. ‘When this meeting is over,’ he said, ‘I’ll be on the phone with the Department of Defense.’ His call wasn’t the first – or the 50th. The issue of using secret military gear to aid civilian firefighters arose 35 years ago. It grew as the White House, the CIA, the U.S. Forest Service and other federal agencies sought to establish a national system that warned of undetected wildfires and menacing flare-ups.”

“The Pentagon allowed tests and a short-lived prototype. But the arrangements were never permanent. The military, eager to safeguard its prerogatives and orbital fleets, was always glad to shut the pipeline down. As a result, officials like Governor Newsom now have to lobby for emergency access. But record-setting fires are likely to grow worse and pose grave new dangers that warrant an urgent response, according to proponents of deeper cooperation between officials who combat wildfires and those managing the military spacecraft. The nation can no longer afford endless turf wars and bureaucratic foot-dragging. It’s a matter, they say, of public safety. The parts of the United States destroyed each year by wildfires have more than doubled over two decades. And California’s fires have recently grown rapidly in size. Deaths and diseases are linked not only to flames but also toxic smoke. Even so, proponents of using defense satellites note, the military has no established program to issue firefighting alerts to local, state and federal authorities”