Firefighter Shortage Across U.S. Poses ‘Dangerous’ Risks as Peak Wildfire Season Ramps Up

Firefighters
and
Prescribed
Burn
Association
members
prepare
at
Pacific
Union
College
Forest
in
Angwin,
California
on
May
15,
2025.
State
agency
CAL
FIRE
has
commonly
received
federal
help
in
the
past
from
USFS.
Justin
Sullivan
/
Getty
Images

More
than
one-quarter
of

United
States
Forest
Service
(USFS)

firefighting
positions
are
vacant,
creating
shortages
as

extreme
conditions
lead
to

wildfires
across
the
country,
internal
data
reviewed
by
The
Guardian
has
revealed.

USFS
Chief
Tom
Schultz
has
repeatedly
reassured
the
public
and
lawmakers
that
the
agency
is
prepared
for
the
high
amount
of
wildfire
activity
predicted
this
year.

“The
agency
saying
it
is
‘fully
staffed’
is
dangerous,”
a
squad
leader
who
is
familiar
with
the
data
said.
“Maxing
out
19-year-olds
with
no
qualifications
isn’t
the
best
strategy.”

With
more
than
41,000
wildfires
already
this
year,
the
5,100
unfilled
positions
—
26
percent
of
the
USFS
firefighting
force
—
are
especially
concerning
for
regions
like
the
Pacific
Northwest
that
are
facing
extremely
high
wildfire
risk
in
2025.

USFS
staffing
reports
from
July
17
show
a
USFS
vacancy
rate
of
39
percent
during
a
year
that
has
been
almost
31
percent
busier
than
average
in
terms
of
wildfire
activity.

In
the
Intermountain
region
—
the
nation’s
largest
with
nearly
34
million
forested
acres
across
parts
of
Nevada,
Wyoming,
Utah,
California
and
Idaho
—
staff
shortages
are
at
almost
37
percent.

In

Oregon
and
New
Mexico,
firefighters
have
described
being
pulled
away
from
fire
lines
to
do
administrative
tasks
due
to

insufficient
support
staff,
reported
Reuters.

“There
is
definitely
a
lot
of
tension
in
the
system
this
season,”
said
one
fire
captain,
as
The
Guardian
reported.
“It’s
sort
of
like
that
medieval
torture
device
that
stretched
people
–
just
one
more
crank.”

There
have
been
reports
of
forest
service
crews
having
less
than
half
the
staff
needed
to
be
considered
fully
operational.

Six
U.S.
firefighters
who
asked
to
remain
anonymous
due
to
being
barred
from
speaking
publicly
said
staffing
shortages
had
made
it
harder
for
firefighters
to
suppress
large
wildfires
and
have
contributed
to
more
risks
and
injuries
for
those
working
on
the
ground.

Many
of
the
vacant
positions
are
in
leadership
and
middle
management,
which
leaves
crucial
gaps
in
tactical
planning
and
experience.

“We
can’t
send
[a
crew]
without
supervision
because
it
is
unsafe
–
if
they
don’t
have
a
qualified
supervisor
that
engine
is
parked,”
said
retired
firefighter
Bobbie
Scopa,
who
was
with
the
USFS
for
45
years.

Less
staff
also
leads
to
fatigue
for
firefighters
who
spend
weeks
on
fire
lines
in
extreme
weather
with
little
chance
for
rest
and
recovery.

“Folks
are
having
to
fill
in
and
fill
holes,”
Scopa
explained,
“and
they
are
going
out
without
all
the
positions
they
need
for
a
team.”

To
be
fair,
the
map
looks
like
that
pretty
much
every
year.
But
to
the
point,
now
is
not
the
time
to
mess
w/
our
ability
to
do
our
jobs.
Purchasing
(basic
supplies)
was
never
easy
in
the
government;
it’s
worse
now.
Of
course
we
dutifully
jump
thru
hoops
as
elections
have
consequences,
but
damn.

[image
or
embed]

—
Alt
US
Forest
Service
(@altusfs.altgov.info)

July
17,
2025
at
9:38
PM

In
recent
years,
the
USFS
has
had
a
hard
time
recruiting
and
retaining
qualified
firefighters
due
to
low
pay
and
increasing
job
hazards.
The
agency
lost
almost
half
its
permanent
employees
from
2021
to
2024.

The
issue
has
been
exacerbated
by
the
Trump
administration,
which
has
slashed
budgets
and
reduced
support
staff.

The
U.S.
Department
of
Agriculture,
which
oversees
the
USFS,
has
tried
calling
on
employees
with
fire
qualifications
who
took
early
retirement
or
resignation
offers
to
return
voluntarily
for
the
season
until
their
contracts
end.
However,
when
Schultz
was
questioned
by
senators
about
the
issue,
he
said
the
numbers
of
employees
who
had
decided
to
return
were
not
yet
available.

“We
depend
on
those
people
to
help
run
the
large
fires,”
Scopa
said,
as
reported
by
The
Guardian.
“Teams
are
not
fully
functional
right
now
because
we
have
lost
so
many
people.”

Scopa
said
there
had
even
been
food
shortages
for
firefighters
in
the
field.

“I
am
hearing
from
firefighters
who
aren’t
getting
meals
because
they
are
having
problems
with
the
contracts
for
the
caterers
because
we
laid
off
people
who
worked
in
contracting,”
Scopa
said.
“There
was
no
efficiency
in
this
–
they
just
slashed
it
with
an
ax.”

And
the
staff
reductions
could
get
worse.

The
Trump
administration
is
proposing
the
consolidation
of
firefighters
into
a
new
Department
of
the
Interior
agency.
Many
firefighters
support
the
concept,
but
there
have
been
worries
that
emergency
response
management
is
taking
a
back
seat
while
the
process
is
being
pushed
through
quickly.

“You
all
have
trotted
out
another
new
reorganization
in
the
middle
of
a
very
dangerous
fire
season,”
said
Democratic
Senator
from
Oregon
Ron
Wyden
to
Schultz
during
a
committee
meeting,
as
The
Guardian
reported.
“These
infernos
are
not
your
grandfather’s
fires
–
they
are
bigger
and
they
are
hotter.
We
need
to
address
this
critical
preparedness
gap.”

A
state
of
emergency
was
declared
in
Oregon
last
week
due
to
wildfire
activity.
The
state
has
already
been
affected
by
several
fires
this
year,
including
the

95,000-acre
Cram
fire,
the
largest
in
the
country.

As
of
July
21,
83
large
wildfires
were
being
fought
by
firefighters
across
the
country.

Approximately
two
weeks
ago,
the
country’s
fire
managers
moved
its
response
to
“Preparation
Level
4,”
the
second-highest
designation,
which
shows
that
firefighting
resources
are
heavily
committed.

Even
though
Schultz
has
assured
Congress
of
the
USFS’
preparedness
for
the
intense
wildfire
activity,
his
tone
shifted
in
an
internal
memo
last
week
to
agency
leadership,
as
shared
with
The
Guardian.

“As
expected,
the
2025
fire
year
is
proving
to
be
extremely
challenging,”
Schultz
wrote.
“We
have
reached
a
critical
point
in
our
national
response
efforts
and
we
must
make
every
resource
available.
At
times
like
this
we
know
the
demand
for
resources
outpaces
their
availability.”