This story was originally published by The Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
The U.S. has faced a critical shortage of firefighters at the Forest Service, or USFS, this summer as thousands of fires erupted across the country.
Despite officials’ claims that the firefighting workforce was stronger than ever, the agency has failed to keep pace with escalating conditions and the catastrophic fires fueled by them, according to nine firefighters who spoke to the Guardian anonymously, because they are barred from disclosing the information to the public.
Several people familiar with internal hiring data at the agency said there were also large gaps in important leadership roles, which had caused bottlenecks and operational challenges during a busy and dangerous year.
They described a response system that’s been pushed to the brink, as unsustainable pressure is put on skeleton crews with months to go before the highest fire risks subside. Last year, many firefighters had to work more than 1,000 hours of overtime — the equivalent of cramming an extra five months of work into an already busy season. This year is expected to be even worse.
