The West is burning, so California struggles to find help fighting its wildfires
A June memo from the U.S. Forest Service Chief stressed the policy and put it in the pandemic context, as a strategy to put fires out quickly to limit crews’ exposure to COVID-19 while in the field. That has meant crews are busy on almost every fire, even those that might be observed and allowed to burn. To Timothy Ingalsbee, executive director of the Oregon-based group Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology, it’s a misguided approach. “It’s not humanly possible to put out all fires,” he said. “We need to focus on the fires that really matter, to save lives and homes, and shift resources to them. The future is to safely manage wildfires, to steer them. You don’t need hundreds of firefighters to do that.”
They Know How to Prevent Megafires. Why Won’t Anybody Listen?
“The fire community, the progressives, are almost in a state of panic,” Ingalsbee said. There’s only one solution, the one we know yet still avoid. “We need to get good fire on the ground and whittle down some of that fuel load. You won’t find any climate deniers on the fire line.”
COVID-19 prompts new fire strategies: Officials aim to put blazes out quickly rather than burning off undergrowth
Marshall said COVID-19 has prompted a new statewide strategy aimed at extinguishing wildfires as soon as possible.
“In the past, we’d let some fires burn and let them burn out some of the undergrowth if it wasn’t threatening structures and try and clear out some of that to help reduce the long-term fire danger,” Marshall said. “This year, that’s not going to be the case. There’s going to be a really aggressive effort to put out fires early on.”
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Firefighters train for wildland fire season
With summer on the way, Colorado Springs firefighters are gearing up for another wildland fire season.
Friday 27 training recruits from the current fire academy and five firefighters from the previous academy were out doing some hands-on training.
With summer on the way, Colorado Springs firefighters are gearing up for another wildland fire season.
Friday 27 training recruits from the current fire academy and five firefighters from the previous academy were out doing some hands-on training.
https://www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/firefighters-train-for-wildland-fire-season
USFS reverts to ‘old’ fire plan in time of coronavirus
“With the prospect of a wildland fire season ramping up at time when the COVID-19 respiratory virus is still lingering in the population, local fire fighting agencies are planning an aggressive suppression strategy this year aimed at extinguishing fires as quickly as possible, a markedly different approach from normal years.”
“With the prospect of a wildland fire season ramping up at time when the COVID-19 respiratory virus is still lingering in the population, local fire fighting agencies are planning an aggressive suppression strategy this year aimed at extinguishing fires as quickly as possible, a markedly different approach from normal years.”
For Emergency Personnel, Disaster Planning Must Now Factor in Covid-19
Tim Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology, is worried about the ways coronavirus is already undermining readiness. Physical fitness tests, medical reviews, safety training and refresher courses have been suspended or moved online just as crews should be gearing up to be ready for work in May.
"I think there's a fair amount of dread among wildland firefighters about how they are going to do their jobs," Ingalsbee said.