US Forest Service firefighters ramp up readiness for wildfire season
Newsy
The agency’s new strategy is also aimed at better protecting first responders from physical dangers.
Forecasters are warning of what could be a busy wildfire season in the United States this year.
As temperatures begin to warm and parts of the country get less rain through spring and summer, the U.S. Forest Service announced it will change its strategy for the firefights likely to come.
“Our historical traditional approach of overwhelming mass and bringing a whole lot of resources together to battle and to try to manipulate mother nature and wildfire isn't sustainable,” said Alex Robertson, Acting Director of Fire and Aviation at the U.S. Forest Service.
Robertson said as wildfires continue to burn more acreage and last longer, the agency will dispatch resources and personnel differently, so the most well-trained first responders are battling the most complex fires.
The agency’s new strategy is also aimed at better protecting first responders from physical dangers and the mental and emotional exhaustion that come with the job.
