Trump administration Cut funds Forest and fire officials in Washington and Oregon said the losses helped federal workers supporting field firefighting continue to be a challenge for the upcoming wildfire season.
The biggest problem they face is the lack of communication between the federal government as the West faces a “very important wildfire season,” George Geissler, Washington, said Thursday in a press conference hosted by Democrat Patty Murray of Washington and Jeff Merkley of Oregon.
“It’s a time when we need the aviation we need, and when we need the aviation that people need and all the systems check out and ready to go when the alarm bell rings,” he said. “It’s hard to miss the third stop of the stool we have without knowing what our partner is doing or without having a clear understanding of what action is being taken.”
Forest Services Labor in February Elon Musk's efforts to reduce federal spending As part of the Ministry of Efficiency of the Government, it is called Doge. At least 1,000 national park service personnel were released. The court orders to re-sack workers, and public outcry have brought many workers back to work, but Murray and fire officials say that is not enough. Additionally, the loss of experienced, trained workers restored the process to its original state.
"We heard no need to worry, we're going to hire frontline people," Murray said. "You're just letting a bunch of frontlines go."
"Funds are not at risk," said a spokesman for the Interior Department that oversees national parks and other public lands. They support fire efforts by increasing salaries for federal and tribal field firefighters in the United States
She said the government refused to release the exact number of workers fired and rehired, but the number came from various forests.
"I've heard of at least 35 people in Mt. Baker-snoqualmie National National Forest, 46 people in Okanagan-Wenatchee, 21, in Colville, Gifford-Pinchot, and 15 people in Columbia River Canyon National Scenic Area, Olympic National Forest and Methow Valley," she said. "That's the thing, almost every forest service employee supports fire operations in some capacity."
Fire Chief Leonard Johnson said they might line up the support and heavy equipment for aviation but needed trained firefighters to put out the fire.
“We have a lot of dependence on that workforce,” he said. “It’s not only at the local level, at the state level, but at the federal level that makes our wildfire season successful in dealing with those fires. People are a key component of all this.”
Merkley said Trump's budget proposal cuts forest and watershed management plans to improve forest conditions, eliminates a collaborative forest landscape recovery program and cuts 2,000 national forest positions that are thousands of people leaving for early retirement, buyouts and layoffs.
Murray said most workers may not have a “fireman” title, but they all have red cards – a sign that they have received special training to provide essential frontline support to firefighters.
“In fact, about three-quarters of forest service workers are trained in wild land firefighting,” she said. “When the crisis breaks out, they provide important surge capabilities.”
Murray said the off-road vehicle staff ensures clear paths to firefighters and equipment. Biologists conduct tests to determine prescribed combustion and fuel reduction plans.
"We're here to pull the fire today and we're going to start some sirens," she said. "We're going to keep paying attention to this and we're going to keep pushing back. There are so many dangers that are under threat."