The Silence Before the Storm: How Budget Cuts and Denial Are Killing Americans
The death toll from the flooding in Kerr county has risen to 43, including 15 children, the sheriff Larry Leitha said at a briefing. As of 5.30pm on July 5th, he added, officials were still working to identify 12 of the recovered adults and five of the children.
Dalton Rice, the Kerrville city manager, said that 27 girls from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the Guadalupe River, are still missing. Other people who were in the area but not at the camp could also be missing, Rice added.
Tragedy in Idaho: Firefighters Ambushed While Responding to Wildfire
A wildfire response in northern Idaho turned into a deadly ambush on Sunday, as firefighters arriving on scene were met with sniper fire from a concealed gunman. Two firefighters are confirmed dead, and a third remains in critical condition following what officials are calling a premeditated attack on public safety personnel.
Fire and the Emergent Worship of Artificial Intelligence.
I believe this is more than a policy debate. It is a spiritual conflict about the role of humanity in nature. One side envisions a world sanitized of risk and irregularity — a world governed by remote sensing, machine learning, and automated suppression. The other side honors fire as a regenerative life force. As an ecological fire practitioner and educator, I know which side I stand on.
Locked Jet Streams, Fire Tornadoes, and the Politics of Wildfire
“An increase in resonant planetary wave events, which favor persistent summer weather extremes, is evident since the mid-twentieth century, with an increase from roughly 1 to 3 events per summer on average.”
Savage Creek
Incendiary Imbeciles #8
Global warming came for us at Savage Creek in 1984.
When we arrived early in the morning, the wildfire wasn’t yet a big problem. But it had settled strange. And maybe a bit ominous. During the night, it scattershot embers, spawning minefields of little smoking spot fires.
Whither the Incident Management Teams
These aren’t just administrative losses. They are operational amputations. The DOGE cuts have gutted the experienced core of IMTs—particularly in critical roles like operations, logistics, planning, air attack, and finance. Some teams are now scrambling to replace long-standing members with temporary fill-ins, often from state and local agencies already overcommitted.
Hollowed Out
In the wake of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiatives, led by Elon Musk, significant staffing reductions have occurred across federal agencies responsible for wildfire management. Chaotic firings of probationary employees, and others, followed quickly by re-hirings, were experienced in all the Federal land management agencies. This, all the while official government inboxes filled with official Reduction in Force (RIF) messages alongside weird loyalty pledges and whimsical demands of a ketamine addict. These cuts have strained resources and fueled uncertainty over job security, raising concerns about the readiness and effectiveness of wildfire response teams.
Fly with Eagles
“Pride comes before the fall.” Hubris can be something that some wildland fire workers have opportunities to experience every day and yet some will never learn.
Fly with eagles, fall like a Fool Hen.
We thought we were miss-spotted, doomed to tree-up. Treeing-up can be very humiliating. It invites chortles of disapproval from your buddies and bequeaths a reputation of being a “tree frog.” First, there will be an announcement from the spotter on the plane over the radio for the whole world to know.
Rodeo Clowns
Wildland fire workers stay united even when sometimes safety-challenged on the fireline, or at times ecologically-challenged following orders, and occasionally ethically-challenged after work.
Planning Smokey Bear’s Retirement
Animal mascots are effective for engaging information with children. Animal mascots are relatable to children and are engaging to a child's imagination and creativity, and helps to draw their attention to playful characters that can emphasize the retention of learning the material being presented.
National Parks Need More Employees, not Less
Politicians who want to conceal their actions often do things on Friday afternoon to avoid the attention of the media. Last Friday, the Trump regime fired hundreds of people in agencies that protect our environment. The Environmental Protection Agency, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Forest Service and the National Park Service all saw staff fired.
Leather Hinges
Blow-up conditions, fire-freed rocks blasting downhill, and stealthy snags falling without warning remain dangerous on all fires and keep ethical wildland firefighters vigilant for safety. But the privilege of being there often allows intimate observation of rudimentary ecosystem change.
Grizzly Bear territory in the past, no doubt. Will it become Grizzly territory again? Right now in this area, young subalpine fir and a lot of lodgepole pine seem to be crowding out the white bark pine that Grizzlies favor as food sources.
The Helpers
We are the helpers, the healers, the hands, Racing through fire and drought-shattered lands.
We rush to the breach, through smoke and flame, To burn where needed to mend the earth’s pain.
Others feed the hungry, and mend the weak, Showing no fear when the sirens speak.
Colorado Condensate
Lots of wildland fire workers enjoy being a part of the virtuous fire cycle and pridefully protect human structures. But many times unknown circumstances compromise their safety.
From the air, we got a good look of the millions of years old interplay of wildland fires’ creative destruction and promise of rebirth, renewal and vibrant growth on this landscape of piñon, juniper, and sagebrush. We also saw the encroaching fossil fuel infrastructure that sprawled as gigantic spider webs of pipelines binding derelict carcasses of rusting storage tanks and decaying pump jacks.
Meditations with Wildland Firefighters
I had the pleasure and privilege of representing FUSEE at a 6-day mindfulness retreat for 24 wildland firefighters (current, former, and retired) in mid-January at Great Vow Zen Monastery. Helena put in much of the leg work on FUSEE’s behalf with the three facilitators in planning and leading up to the retreat. Late into the planning process, I asked if I could join and I was tasked with going to observe and help determine whether this would be a good thing for FUSEE to continue to sponsor and support in the future. I also have a background in mental health, prior to my administrative and nonprofit law work, and I worked in few different roles for mental health organizations after majoring in Psychology in college.
Undulating Undulates
Wildland fire workers’ “Ethics” contemplates “Ecology” within the Golden Rule. Sometimes institutional biases prevent participants from doing the right thing, still wildlands abide.
From the plane I saw the herd of elk below. Our airplane and jumpers floating into the meadow jumpspot must have disturbed them. The elk herd began to stampede.
Disaster and Dishonesty in the California Fires
As a society, we cannot function well if misinformation comes from the President of the United States. If Trump chooses to be ignorant or half-informed on issues, that’s our problem. When he shares false narratives with the public to divide people and promote conservative interests over the public interest, we must call him on it and make sure people know he is misleading us.
The recent fires burning suburban areas of Los Angeles have raised political tensions during widespread property damage and human suffering. Trump used the fire disasters as a wedge issue and to demand that California implement unrelated pro-industry policies. He even demanded that California institute voter suppression laws (voter ID requirements) of the sort that helped him to get elected in swing states. He implied he would withhold federal disaster aid unless his conditions were met.
Whistling Past Catastrophe
Maybe after the endless Russiagate recitations America is experiencing “scandal fatigue” with regard to President Musk, or Trump, or whoever is driving this crazy train. Why else would Trump get a pass on the very real scandal emerging from his first two weeks in office?
When Santa Ana winds made a late appearance early in January and found an abundance of available desiccated vegetation, it should have not been surprising that fires would occur. When they did, bringing enormous property damage and lives lost, prominent conservatives attributed the perceived inadequate response to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. They argued that prioritizing DEI initiatives somehow compromised the effectiveness of firefighting efforts.
“I’m Receiving That”
They came because they grieved a loved one, friend, or fellow wildland firefighter lost to accident or suicide. They came because they grieved the loss of love. They came because they grieved lost time with family members, especially growing children and ailing family members, while on assignment. And they grieved for the earth in a thousand ways.
They came from everywhere: Oregon, Idaho, the Southwest, the Midwest, and Alaska--the latter in most notable numbers. The Alaska Fire Service is embracing mindfulness as valuable skills training for their wildland firefighters. In increasing numbers, fire management agencies are paying travel and training expenses for their employees to attend mindfulness retreats that can last a week or more.
Down Air Prickly Pear
Frontline wildland fire workers usually stay “United” in solidarity for survival when facing danger or “bad deals.” They help each other and enjoy the hardship and hilarity endemic to wildfires.
Blistering deserts, steep, tall mazes draped in tangled, stoic forests, the Gila can be unforgiving. That’s why you’re gotta trust your wildland firefighting partner to support and be there for you.