As fires increase, manpower must too
New strategies to keep personnel available
PRESCOTT, Ariz. — It’s shaping up to be a long wildfire season, with Texas already seeing its largest blaze in recorded history and firefighters becoming overwhelmed with recent blazes in Virginia.
Just in the first three months of the year, more than 2,669 square miles were charred in the United States. That’s more than half of last year’s total, and forecasters are predicting elevated risk of fires over the coming months in the Great Lakes region, parts of the Midwest, Southwest and in Hawaii.
“We’re going to be busy. I couldn’t tell you exactly where right now, but we are going to be busy,” said Alex Robertson, acting director of fire and aviation at the U.S. Forest Service.
With fires growing in size and duration, federal officials in charge of juggling resources and dispatching crews are pivoting to a new business model they describe as the biggest shift in wildfire management in decades. They say it will offer more flexibility when responding to wildfires and ensure that there are more personnel with the training and qualifications needed to deal with the most complex fires.
It’s an idea that has been circulating for years due to the strain put on the wildland firefighting workforce as heat waves and historic drought tied to climate change have made wildfires harder to fight in the American West.
In past years, a shortage of top-level Type 1 teams has resulted in Type 2 teams taking on bigger assignments — like those that threaten multiple communities and require more firefighters, aircraft and a constant stream of other resources. This season, 44 leadership teams have been formed to respond to the U.S. largest fires.
Managers consider many factors when deciding a fire’s complexity, which can change amid developments ranging from fuel conditions and growth potential to risks to property and cultural resources.
Todd Abel, the deputy fire management officer with Arizona’s Department of Forestry and Fire Management, has been part of wildfire management teams for more than two decades. There have been years when he returned home from an assignment only to pack up and leave again two days later for another one.
“That’s why they’re making more teams available for complex incident management,” he said.
In 2021, California marked its largest single wildfire. The Dixie
Fire was active for more than three months and grew to 1,505 square miles. Nearly 2,000 personnel were assigned to that fire.
The following year in New Mexico, more than 3,000 people were assigned to fight the Hermit’s Peak/ Calf Canyon Fire. The largest and most destructive wildfire in New Mexico’s recorded history, it burned for more than four months before it was contained.
Recruitment of wildland firefighters has been a priority across federal land management agencies.