In the interim, California has experienced some of the largest and most destructive wildfires in the state’s history. Did you know that the National Defense Authorization Act passed by Congress in 2018 authorized seven C-130 aircraft for retrofitting to augment California firefighting capabilities? That was over four years ago and we are still waiting for the U.S. We also need to take full advantage of readily-available technology that would directly help suppress fires, most notably aircraft that can deliver a quick, decisive response such as C-130 aircraft. Furthermore, we need to learn to develop efficient systems that support private contractors that run heavy equipment and water trucks to augment our firefighting forces during times of need. Army and/or California National Guard - to supplement the work of existing hard crews.Īt the same time, it’s important for our government and the private sector to think outside the box and look at nontraditional pools of workers-like the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, which provides job training and career resources to previously incarcerated individuals to pursue firefighting careers-to top up our firefighting capability. Another viable avenue to ease this labor crunch is enlisting military resources - like the U.S. While steps have been taken, Cal Fire is still short 100 permanent hand crews, while federal suppression forces are also down 500 firefighters in California alone.
The federal government has taken positive steps forward in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to pay, retain and hire new federal firefighters and hand crews. We need literal, not figurative, boots on the ground. If an aggressive initial attack stops the fire, we don’t have to fight so hard to mitigate impacts from recent fire scars and to keep our forests green.įirst of all, we need to increase our manpower in taking on these fires. Managing burned areas so they don't become susceptible to floods and mudslides is difficult and dangerous work. Putting more resources into early suppression would help neutralize the immediate threat-active flames-and make recovery easier. They have to be addressed mutually, which means it’s time to lean in hard on offense.
We can’t continue to decouple prevention and suppression. But as any sports fan knows, you can’t win exclusively by playing defense. In California, our fire protection system has historically been based on both prevention and suppression, with a lot of the current focus being spent on prevention, such as urging homeowners to clear brush, harden homes, and install drought-resistant landscapes. It’s time to truly fight fire with everything we have. Several models are predicting that this could be California’s worst wildfire season ever. It’s a hot summer and smoke season is upon us again.
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