Firefighters battling enormous wildfires in the United States say the federal government is failing them at a time when supercharged blazes have made their jobs exponentially more dangerous.<\/p>\n
While the US continues to grapple with a critical shortage of federal firefighters \u2013 with especially large gaps in essential management positions \u2013 the Trump administration<\/a> has increased pressure on firefighting forces to rapidly and aggressively contain the flames.<\/p>\n Nine firefighters who spoke to the Guardian under the condition of anonymity because they are barred from disclosing the information, as well as several retired firefighters, described how spread-thin crews are being pushed to their limits amid an unrelenting and extreme year of fire.<\/p>\n \u201cAccidents have been through the roof,\u201d one firefighter said, adding that widespread fatigue has set in after being on near-nonstop fire assignments since April. Another firefighter, who works as part of a specialized helicopter crew, said he\u2019s had to opt out of assignments this year because they were too high-risk or ill-advised.<\/p>\n The job has always carried inherent risks, especially as the climate crisis continues to turn up the dial, creating blazes that are harder to battle. But this year has been a particularly dangerous one.<\/p>\n Wildfires are overrunning firefighters at the highest rate in two decades<\/a>, according to data from the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center, a federal agency. By mid-August there had already been 12 entrapments \u2013 exceptionally dangerous situations when flames roar into pre-established safety zones or block firefighter escape routes. That\u2019s the highest number in 20 years, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n There have been 14 reported on-duty fatalities this year, including three firefighters who died battling Colorado\u2019s Knowles fire<\/a>. An additional member of their crew succumbed to his injuries weeks later and another was severely burned. The incident was the most deadly entrapment in 13 years.<\/p>\n Dr Timothy Ingalsbee, a fire ecologist who began his career as a wildland firefighter with the US Forest Service (USFS), said he\u2019s heard from safety officers that there has been a notable spike in burn injuries this year, a sign he attributes to \u201ccrews being pushed into aggressive direct attack in times when it is not effective\u201d.<\/p>\n Ingalsbee is the executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology (Fusee), a non-profit he cofounded in an effort to increase both safety and sustainability in firefighting, and he said he\u2019s concerned that operations are heading in the wrong direction on both fronts.<\/p>\n \u201cClimate change is half the explanation,\u201d Ingalsbee said, for what he called \u201cthe perfect firestorm for a really bad season for firefighting\u201d.<\/p>\n \u2018Teams have worked more fires than is safe\u2019<\/p>\n The Department of the Interior and the USFS did not respond to requests for comment from the Guardian or answer questions on the comprehensive number of injuries reported so far this year.<\/p>\n But in a letter issued last week to the heads of the US Department of the Interior and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees the USFS, five senators said personnel have had to work extended assignments, requests for crews went unfilled in communities across the west, and that the agencies are facing the depletion of their combined $6bn suppression budget with weeks left to go before the highest fire risks subside.<\/p>\n The letter claimed \u201cthat teams have worked more fires than is safe, using temporary supervisory structures because fully qualified personnel are not available\u201d.<\/p>\n Signed jointly by senators Michael Bennet, Alex Padilla, Ron Wyden, Adam Schiff, and John Hickenlooper, they added: \u201cThis is exceptionally concerning given the high wildland firefighter fatality rate this season.\u201d<\/p>\n Taskforce leaders, division supervisors and heavy equipment bosses are essential to run large firefighting operations, and require decades of experience. Losses in these on-the-ground leadership roles<\/a> have become extremely difficult to replace. Meanwhile, firefighters said the federal government has failed to scale up staffing levels overall to meet the rising needs, pushing resources to the brink season after season.<\/p>\n \u201cFirefighting capacity is kind of like wages, and the fire environment is like inflation \u2013 it has not kept up,\u201d said one fire captain who works out of the Pacific north-west.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have had shortages for 20 years \u2013 and it\u2019s only gotten worse,\u201d said Bobbie Scopa, a retired fire chief who now serves as a vice-president for the firefighter advocacy group Grassroots Wildland Firefighters. As the need for resources grew and limited numbers of leaders grew scarce, responsibilities were sometimes doubled up. \u201cThat sets everyone up for failure,\u201d Scopa said. \u201cIt is not like we are trying to add bureaucracy \u2013 we are trying to keep people alive.\u201d<\/p>\n The picture stands in stark contrast to the one painted by Tom Schultz, the USFS chief, who has repeatedly assured lawmakers and the public that the agency\u2019s firefighting workforce is at full capacity.<\/p>\n \u201cOur firefighting workforce is stronger than at any point in recent years,\u201d Schultz said in testimony to a congressional subcommittee in July<\/a>. \u201cWe are fully staffed and equipped to respond aggressively to every unplanned ignition.\u201d<\/p>\n Crews spend months going from fire to fire<\/p>\n The Trump administration has pushed for more aggressive tactics, at times at the expense of firefighter safety, several firefighters said.<\/p>\n Brooke Rollins, the US agriculture secretary, and Doug Burgum, the US secretary of the interior, both issued directives this year that prioritize direct attack, a strategy that can be more risky.<\/p>\n