As the threat of destructive wildfires remains high across western states like Colorado and California, the number of federal firefighters available to respond to them is dropping.
The hotshot crews for the U.S. Forest Service and other federal agencies work on a seasonal staffing schedule and see their peak firefighter levels during the summer months of the fire season, KOAA-TV reports. With many of the crews using college students during the high-risk months, there can be a 50 percent decrease in federal firefighters able to battle fall blazes, like the almost-contained Decker fire near Salida, CO.
"We're starting to let a lot of seasonals go," Eric Toft, the manager for the Pueblo Interagency Dispatch Center, told KOAA. "Hotshot crews are timing out. Engine crews are timing out. Basically, their seasonal staff is starting to be laid off."
Staffing drops like that mean Toft and others at the Pueblo dispatch center need to have a handle on the latest fire conditions in a given area, as well as what can be feasibly staffed. It also means dispatchers have to get creative by asking for help from state and local emergency agencies.
"We are having to look and see if anything really is available for the year or the day that we're looking at right now, and what is needed for fires," Toft told KOAA.
