Democrats demand layoffs on firefighters in critical fire season Answers | Firefighters

As federal firefighters struggle to cope with strict resources amid intense fire activities, Democratic lawmakers demand answer From the Trump administration’s introduction on how severely cuts to the U.S. Forest Service staff and budget could hinder wildfire preparation and response.

The agencies that oversee the agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture leaders have repeatedly assured the public and Congress that they are well prepared for the critical fire season that is already underway.

But internal data first reported by The Guardian last month drew dangerous different pictures, more One quarter of firefighting roles were not filled in in mid-Julyjust like fire activities and dangers. Trump administration Policies aimed at closing the federal government quickly also left a big gap in the workforce supporting wildfire mitigation and repression.

In a letter sent on ThursdayRepresentative Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, provided USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins with two weeks, provided the documents with detailed accounting for firefighters staffing and support staff, and called for clear knowledge of information from the USF, which was largely blocked from the public.

“Forest Service’s fire-fighting capabilities are hampered by government efficiency and the dangers of Trump administration layoffs, deferred resignations, and other early retirement and resignations,” Garcia wrote in the letter.

Reports from the production staff on July 17 Indicates that more than 5,100 positions in USF have not been filled inmore than 26% of the positions. This problem is particularly serious in the Pacific Northwest, which faces extremely high fire risk this year with a vacancy rate of 39%. The mountainous area, the largest area, has nearly 34 million acres (14 million hectares) of woodland spread throughout Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho and Idaho and Californianearly 37% of the work is not filled.

In the weeks before the coverage, USFS chief Tom Schultz told the senators that the agency was meeting its fire-fighting capacity and reached its 99% recruitment target.

Personnel numbers cannot capture the stress felt in specific areas within these areas, which are very sparsely ranked. There are reports that less than half of the USFS crew members were once considered necessary for full operation.

Six federal firefighters asked to be anonymous because they were banned from speaking publicly and described in July how the shortages complicated the ability of staff to suppress fires and led to increased injuries and risks for firefighters on the ground.

“There must be a lot of tension in the system this season,” the fire captain said, describing the issues that have long plagued the agency. “A little like a medieval torture device that stretches people – there is only one crank.”

The agency speculates that the agency may take advantage of the difference between the “minimum” staffing requirements and traditionally considered “full staffing.” “Technically, you can play football with 11 people on the team,” he said. “It would be considered negligence and could even be abused by the players, but they signed the game, and technically, that’s the same.”

In addition to reports of dangerous holes encountered by fire brigades, there are deep cuts to support employees who have negatively impacted crew members on the fire. USFS has not disclosed specific figures, and it is unclear how many employees will be withdrawn from the agency this year through shooting or planning to incentivize resignations and early retirement plans, but U.S. Senator Patty Murray shares an estimated number of up to 7,500 people. Among them are 1,400 people, including the so-called “red cards”, non-professional firefighters who are well trained to join the operation on the Fire Line when needed.

The Ministry of Agriculture, which oversees the Forest Services, attempts to voluntarily return and conduct a shooting mission this season until their contract is over by asking those with red cards to resign early or retire. A USDA spokesman said that by July 21, 65 people had returned and were mobilized.

This year, there have been Report of crews without electricity for weeks due to cuts in maintenance staffsalary is late or halved because administrative roles are empty, or firefighters have to mow lawns outside the office, manage campsites and do plumbing work in their barracks, and have no other responsibilities yet. In Oregon, firefighters reportedly Their 16-hour shift was hungry The rate of medical supply is low due to staffing challenges.

“The lost staff includes executive and human resources personnel, food service and sanitation workers, scientists, foresters, meteorologists, and others with deep institutional knowledge to help firefighters get their jobs,” Garcia wrote in the letter. “These staff cuts and vacancies cover tasks such as answering calls and cleaning toilets instead of lighting.”

Although Schultz publicly stated that USFS had sufficient staffing, he acknowledged the challenges faced in the internal memorandum shared with Guardian in July.

“As expected, the 2025 fire year proved extremely challenging,” he wrote. Forecasts sent from the Climate Forecasting Center, forecasting services indicate that the season is far from a slowdown. It is expected that by September, most parts of the United States will be expected to be higher than normal than normal, as well as drier normal conditions, which poses high risks to major burns.

“We have reached the key point of national response efforts and we have to make all resources available,” Schultz added. “Sometimes we know that the demand for resources exceeds their availability.”

According to his request, Garcia wants to know exactly how the agency calculates its numbers and where the gap remains.

Legislators asked Rollins to provide “a detailed and comprehensive accounting for changes to the current staffing and personnel of the Forest Services, including firefighting and individuals with red cards, as well as executives, support staff and other positions for disaster preparation and cause disaster preparation and firefighting, organized by the region since January 20, 2025.” They also demand documents and communications related to government shootings, as well as plans to prompt thousands of employees to resign or retire.

In May, Rollins directed USFS The person in charge analyzes how voluntary departure affects fire protection and fire support, and plans to “remediate key positions vacancy,” but these numbers and strategies have never been made public. Garcia also formally requested documentation and communications on the memorandum.

Garcia represents part of Los Angeles, a city that was hit by catastrophic and deadly fires in January, escalating the community and killing 31 people.

“Our federal field firefighters are on the frontline of fighting natural disasters, but the Trump administration continues to cut basic staffing, even if we face longer, more dangerous wildfire seasons,” Garcia said in a statement to the Guardian. “The Department of Agriculture owes American people to answer the reasons why the agency is understaffed and how they plan to protect communities across the country, especially as millions of acres continue to burn nationwide.”