Seattle (AP) – The termination letters that put an end to the careers of thousands of American Forest Service – employees mean that fewer people and fewer resources are available to prevent and combat forest fires, so that the ghost of even more destructive Blazes in the American West, dismissed employees, created, fired, dismissed employees and officials said.
The Forest Service shoots – on the heels of deadly Blazes who tore through Los Angeles Last monthly making a wave of dismissals from federal employees, such as the cost-saving measures of President Donald Trump resound nationwide.
Employees who maintain paths, removed flammable rubble from forests, supported firefighters and say money secured for natural fire restriction Hotter circumstances linked to climate change have increased the intensity of forest fires.
“I am terrified of that,” said Tanya Torst, who was released from her position on February 14 as coordinator of the US Forest Service Partnership in Chico, California. Groups to bring in almost $ 12 million for removing dead trees and other fuels in the Mendocino National Forest.
“This is 100% a safety thing,” she said about her worries, recalling the deadly paradise blaze That killed 85 people east of Chico in 2018. “That’s why I pronounce myself.”
The US Department of Agriculture, which supervises the Forest Service, said in a statement that Secretary Brooke Rollins supports Trump’s guideline to shoot around 2,000 “probationary period, non-Fire-adding employees”, of which he said it was for of efficiency. Rollins strives for “the preservation of essential safety positions and will ensure that critical services remain uninterrupted,” said the statement.
The statement did not go to the dismissed employees who were responsible for removing flammable fuels and other projects aimed at lowering the intensity of a natural fire.
The Trump Government has Frozen funds for prevention programs for natural fires Supported by legislation defended by former President Joe Biden, the Associated Press reported. Programs that are not financed by that legislation can continue, according to a statement of the interior.
The American rep. Kim Schrier, a democrat from the state of Washington, said on the social platform X that the fired forest service already hurt the state, “and it is only getting worse. The fire season is coming. “
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources said that the dismissal forced them to develop unforeseen plans to tackle this coming fire season with a ‘degraded federal force.
Melanie Mattox Green, who was dismissed from her land management and environmental planning track in Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest in Montana, said that their fire brigade prevention efforts priority gave areas where cities are bording to ground forest. Staff cuts put those cities in danger, she said.
“If a fire breaks out now without these projects occurring, that fire will be much more dangerous for our local communities,” she said.
The cutbacks also mean that fewer people keep paths free from fallen trees and other debris, she said. Maintaining paths is crucial in remote areas where firefighters have access on foot.
“Without those paths are deleted, this means that firefighters cannot reach these fires easily and more effectively to combat them,” she said.
Many forest service workers who do not occupy official fire brigade positions still have fire fighting certifications, known as a ‘red card’, which must be renewed annually. Josh Vega, who maintained 1,100 miles (1,770 kilometers) paths as forestry technician in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana before he was fired, said his crew was the first to arrive in a natural fire that broke out in 2023.
For about two days, Vega’s crew checked the fire before firefighters arrived. “We spent the coming days keeping an eye on the fire and ensured that the trailheads were all closed and that the audience knew what was happening, so that they would not find in a perilous situation.”
Many forest service activities include supporting firefighters after the fire season, including research areas for prescribed burns or guaranteeing trailt access, said Luke Tobin, who was released from his role of forestry technician in the National Forest of Idaho.
“Everyone helps in a certain aspect, somehow, form or form,” he said.
GREGG BAFUNDO, who was dismissed from his position last week as Wilderness Ranger and Wildland Firefighter in the Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest, said that the staffing came in a critical time.
“This is the time of year in which they hire everyone,” he said during a press conference by Washington Senator Patty Murray. “It is the time of year in which firefighters renew their red cards and practice with the re -employment of their fire hiding places. This is when they train to be ready to fight the fires of next summer.
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“We can’t train while the fire is burning over the hill.” ___
Rush reported from Portland, Oregon.