Forest and park service worker cuts leave wildland firefighting crews short-staffed
FILE - Students listen to instruction from instructor Ben McLane, right, during a wildland firefighter training, June 9, 2023, in Hazel Green, Ala. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
SEATTLE — Trump administration funding cuts and a loss of federal workers who help support wildland firefighting continues to make planning for the upcoming wildfire season a challenge, according to forest and fire officials in Washington state and Oregon.
The biggest issue they’re facing is a lack of communication from the federal government as the West faces “a pretty significant wildland fire season," Washington State Forester George Geissler said Thursday during a press conference hosted by Democratic Sens. Patty Murray of Washington and Jeff Merkley of Oregon.
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