BILLINGS- As fires rage across California, the devastation weighs heavily on Montanas newly elected Republican U.S. senator, Tim Sheehy. From Washington, D.C., Sheehy is closely monitoring the unfolding crisis.We're obviously watching heartbreaking scenes of families evacuating, homes being destroyed. And it's important to remember that natural disasters, specifically wildfires like this, they don't know race, color, creed, religion, or socioeconomic level. I mean, we're seeing homeless people being evacuated right alongside millionaires and billionaires, said Sheehy.An aerial firefighter by trade, and founder of Bozemans Bridger Aerospace, Sheehy believes the nation is ill-prepared to combat massive and deadly fires.He says one of his priorities this week in Congress is calling for meaningful change.Its about time we're bringing some commonsense reforms to how we manage our public lands, he said.This week, Sheehy says hes observed strong bipartisan energy around addressing the wildfire crisis, particularly in response to the fires near Los Angeles, and he says discussions across the political aisle are already underway.In fact, just before I came here, we were in a meeting on bill language as we speak to be introduced hopefully in the next few days, he said.Sheehy argues that some well-intentioned environmental policies have unintended effects.We don't have enough water in the fire hydrants in California. The hydrants are dry as these people are trying to save homes, as these brave firefighters trying to save homes, he said.While emphasizing the need for practical solutions, Sheehy added, And it's important: We don't have to cast blame, but we have to be realistic about what we have to do to do things better.He pointed out disparities in response protocols, noting that urban firefighters are held to a five-minute response standard, whereas wildland firefighting lacks such benchmarks.There is no response time requirement to a federal wildland fire, or really any wildland fire in most parts of the country, he said. And that's just wrong.Sheehy is advocating for fair compensation for wildland firefighters and a more streamlined response system. He criticized the delays caused by jurisdictional debates, which can take days to resolve.So, there are very simple things we can start doing. Most importantly, we have to treat our wildland firefighters like the professional first responders they are, he said.Even before the current fires near Los Angeles, Sheehy had penned an open letter that appeared on Fox News, addressing the overlapping government agencies he believes contribute to delayed responses in massive fires.Sheehy, who has since stepped down from his role at Bridger Aerospace, used the experience in the industry to highlight the role of the private sector in developing innovative technology.The private sector has more innovation and technology that can lend to more proactive initial attack policies, he said.While not advocating for the elimination of public response, Sheehy criticized bureaucratic inefficiencies and emphasized the need for stronger public-private partnerships. He said in his op-ed he hopes to adopt more proactive and aggressive initial attack strategies.We don't need more money to do it, he said. We need to consolidate into one single dedicated wildland firefighting fund. It won't even require any more money from the American taxpayer, but it will save us billions of dollars in lost homes, he said.