The Bipartisan “ACERO Act” is Supported by Madison County, Virginia — Where the 2023 Quaker Run Fire Burned Nearly 4,000 Acres of Land

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger backed bipartisan legislation to connect rural and wildland firefighters with additional tools to protect their communities from wildland fires.

In 2023, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), unveiled the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) project to develop concepts and test new technologies — like drones and other advanced aviation technologies — to improve aerial firefighting operations. Currently, aerial firefighting operations using an aircraft are limited to daytime and low-smoke environments to prevent crashes. Drones could assist firefighters in delivering equipment to ground crews, improving communications, and remotely suppressing expansive wildland fires — which in Virginia, according to the Virginia Department of Forestry, burn an average of nearly 8,000 acres across the Commonwealth every year.

The Spanberger-backed Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) Act would codify, expand, and improve the existing ACERO project at NASA — ­­­­­­­­­­­investing in the future of aerial firefighting. Specifically, this bipartisan legislation would expand the ACERO project to include research and development of new technologies related to the management and coordination of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles in wildfire response. It would also encourage cooperation between federal, state, and local agencies to coordinate aerial activities during a wildfire response.

“Firefighters from local departments, the Virginia Department of Forestry, and our federal agencies go to work each day to protect our neighbors — and they deserve our strongest support. These brave public servants deserve the best tools available to protect our forests, wildlife, and communities from wildfires — like last year’s Quaker Run Fire in Madison County,” said Spanberger. “This bipartisan legislation would leverage the advancements made by experts at NASA, better coordinate these first responders’ ability to monitor and suppress wildland fires, and support further innovation to help firefighters do their jobs.”

The ACERO Act is supported by rural Virginia localities, like Madison County — where the Quaker Run Fire burned nearly 4,000 acres of public, private, and Shenandoah National Park land last year.

“Madison County supports the ACERO Act and believes that it can better support wildland operations around the Country,” said Brian Gordon, Deputy County Administrator, Madison County. “Our area does not routinely see the extreme fire conditions that are observed in other parts of the Country but having added technology and resources can only strengthen our approach in mediating wildland fires when they occur.”

The legislation is led in the U.S. House by U.S. Representatives Mike Garcia (R-CA-27) and Jennifer McClellan (D-VA-04).

Click here for the full bill text.

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