How Trump’s Funding Freeze Hinders Wildfire Season Readiness — ProPublica

The initiatives by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk to reduce the size of the federal government, coinciding with the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles, have left the nation’s wildland firefighting force ill-prepared for the impending wildfire season.

The administration has frozen funds, including appropriated Congressional money, and has issued a barrage of orders aimed at cutting federal positions, causing the agencies responsible for fire response to descend into chaos as individual offices and managers grapple with interpreting the directives. This uncertainty has hampered training and delayed crucial work to mitigate fire hazards in at-risk areas. Consequently, some firefighters have reportedly been compelled to leave their roles, according to their peers.

ProPublica interviewed a dozen firefighters and others involved in federal wildfire responses nationally and across various agencies. They highlighted numerous immediate effects on a workforce already strained by budget issues predating Trump’s presidency. The recruitment of some seasonal staff has stagnated. Funding for partner nonprofits that aid in reducing fuel loads has been halted. Crews dispatched to assist with controlled burns in Florida were sent back, while those working on wildfire recovery in California faced uncertainty regarding the duration of their assignments.

“Uncertainty is at an all-time high. Morale is at an all-time low,” remarked one federal wildland firefighter. Multiple federal employees chose to remain anonymous due to fears of retaliation from the White House.

In two separate lawsuits, judges have issued temporary restraining orders against certain elements of the White House’s extensive federal spending freeze, although the administration maintains it has the right to suspend the flow of funds. Some funding freezes seem to be easing, but the impacts on projects and hires have already been substantial.

In one instance, the freeze on funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, coupled with travel restrictions on certain federal workers, compelled the National Park Service to cancel a significant prescribed burn planned for January and February in Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve, as confirmed by ProPublica. These controlled burns are crucial in preventing catastrophic wildfires by reducing combustible vegetation, and the painstakingly scheduled 151,434-acre fire—covering an area more than six times that of nearby Miami—was also designed to shield a Native American reservation and enhance ecological diversity.

“We will be more vulnerable to a catastrophic fire in the future due to the inability to conduct prescribed burns,” remarked a federal firefighter with direct insights on the matter.

The National Park Service provided contradictory reasons for the cancellation, suggesting externally that weather was to blame while internally admitting funding constraints played a role, according to the firefighter.

This situation coincides with ongoing challenges for the U.S. Forest Service, which employs over 10,000 firefighters and has been plagued by persistent deficits and insufficient support for the physical and mental health challenges inherent to the job. Federal firefighters conveyed to ProPublica their willingness to undertake a hazardous vocation, but the administration’s policies have heightened the uncertainty surrounding their frequently seasonal employment.

A Forest Service spokesperson stated that a key training program for prescribed burns is proceeding as intended and that “active management, including hazardous fuels reduction and prescribed fires, continues under other funding sources.” The newly appointed secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture will review the remaining expenditures within the agency, according to the statement. The Forest Service did not provide specifics about the available funding or a timeline for lifting the freezes.

“Our top priority remains ensuring the safety of the communities we serve, along with the infrastructure, businesses, and resources essential for their growth and prosperity,” the statement added.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Supervisors are currently left to interpret the White House’s directives as best they can, leading to a “significant leadership void” characterized by conflicting instructions, according to Ben McLane, captain of a federal handcrew that creates fireline around active blazes.

A national training program for firefighting leadership that McLane was supposed to attend was abruptly canceled, he noted. McLane acknowledged the necessity for a major overhaul of federal firefighting agencies, noting that his crew was downsized by 30% due to cuts made prior to the Trump administration. However, the current confusion could exacerbate public safety risks due to the lack of clear leadership and disrupted preparations for wildfire season.

“Wildfire doesn’t care about our bureaucratic calendar,” explained McLane.

“It’s Always Cheaper to Do a Prescribed Burn”

The threat of wildfires is a year-round concern in the Southeast and spreads west and north as snow melts and temperatures rise. In the West, fire season typically commences in the spring, though climate change has extended this season by over two months in recent decades, as noted by the Department of Agriculture.

As another fire season approaches, preparations traditionally begin each year in the Southeast, where mild winters allow crews to conduct prescribed burns, even as the West remains blanketed in snow. Typically, crews are flown in from various regions to assist with managing the planned fires and to gain training for wildfire combat. The Southeast usually accounts for two-thirds of the federal acreage treated with prescribed burns annually, according to data from the Coalition of Prescribed Fire Councils and the National Association of State Foresters.

These controlled burns serve multiple functions: reducing the scale of naturally occurring wildfires by eliminating available fuels, promoting biodiversity through varied habitats, recycling nutrients back into the soil, and providing a training opportunity in a controlled environment.

Any delays during this period hinder preparations, and numerous firefighters have raised concerns about the canceled burn in the Everglades.

Crews had arrived for three-week assignments to assist with the burn, which was to take place in collaboration with the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida and aimed to remove fuels adjacent to the Miccosukee Indian Village. The planned National Park Service burn aimed to “protect the Tribal Community from wildfire, enhance ecological resilience, support ecosystem restoration, uphold cultural values, and improve the safety of both firefighters and the public.”

However, some crews were instructed to return home prematurely, as per a firefighter with firsthand knowledge of the matter. “We do not have the resources to manage this burn,” said the firefighter.

A representative from the National Park Service confirmed the burn’s cancellation but did not address questions regarding the underlying reasons.

Internally, however, the agency acknowledged that funding and staffing shortages compelled it to postpone the planned burn until at least the following fiscal year. Staff was also informed that congressionally appropriated funds were frozen, hiring was restricted, and overtime had been considerably limited, indicated the firefighter.

Prescribed burns that necessitate travel or overtime pay across the nation have also been restricted. Nonprofits managing complementary burns that increase treated acreage have similarly had their federal support frozen, and several state agencies have been denied access to these funds.

For example, in Montana, the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation relies on federal grants to empower communities in enhancing their wildfire resilience. Those funds have been recently cut off, as evidenced by emails reviewed by ProPublica. (The department did not respond immediately to a request for comment.)

“Is their goal to induce more fires?” questioned Mary Louise Knapp, a resident of Montana who has collaborated with the department on fire resilience initiatives in her own community, referring to the Trump administration’s actions.

Any short-term savings resulting from the funding freeze, one federal firefighter asserted, are likely overshadowed by vast expenditures required to combat even larger wildfires. “It’s always cheaper to do a prescribed burn,” the firefighter emphasized.

“They Still Don’t Have the Budget Under Control”

Even prior to Trump’s second inauguration, the federal firefighting force encountered significant obstacles.

A 2023 study by the Government Accountability Office revealed that the low wages, which “do not adequately represent the risks or physical demands of the job,” have hindered both recruitment and retention of firefighters. The study also pointed to well-known mental health and work-life balance issues pervading the Forest Service and the four agencies within the U.S. Department of the Interior totaling 18,700 personnel.

This came in the wake of the Forest Service’s attempts in the previous year to address a budget shortfall in the hundreds of millions of dollars, resulting in a freeze on hiring seasonal workers outside the fire program.

“The reality is setting in—they still don’t have the budget under control,” commented a Forest Service firefighter. Although firefighting roles were exempted, personnel from other positions frequently assist with fires, and the shortage of support staff could necessitate firefighters taking on additional responsibilities, such as maintaining recreational trails, diverting them from fire-focused tasks.

A significant portion of the workforce is hired seasonally or transfers between crews and agencies at different times throughout the year. However, the increasing uncertainty has led once-reliable seasonal personnel to explore other job opportunities that offer greater stability.

“We’re the only ones left,” lamented the Forest Service firefighter regarding the hiring freezes.

(In early February, Republican Senator Tim Sheehy from Montana and Democratic Senator Alex Padilla from California introduced legislation aimed at establishing a new, consolidated firefighting agency.)

All of this occurs amidst a backdrop of increasingly severe and expansive wildfires. Data from the National Interagency Coordination Center indicates that the annual acreage burned over the past decade has been 43% greater than the average observed since the federal government began tracking it in 1983.

“Long, Snowballing Effects”

The bureaucratic upheaval will have enduring repercussions for the workforce and communities in fire-prone regions, as reported by firefighters.

One federal employee engaged in training initiatives likened the experience of a federal funding freeze during a crucial training season to a “massive sledgehammer” impacting the workforce. They described a dire situation: instructors resigning, personnel unsure whether they can travel for training, and leadership roles potentially remaining unfilled as firefighters, lacking necessary qualifications, are unable to advance.

“Any disruption in this training framework can lead to extensive, cascading consequences,” they stated.

Additionally, the workforce has faced additional stress from Trump’s executive orders calling for the dismantling of initiatives focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion, including the closure of employee support groups and seminars aimed at increasing representation of women within the wildfire sector. ProPublica has discovered that government websites have been purged of content highlighting advancements in diversifying the historically male-dominated federal firefighting workforce.

Workers tasked with managing the aftermath of wildfires are also dealing with increased pressures.

In Southern California, the Environmental Protection Agency has over 1,500 employees and contractors currently engaged in cleaning up toxic pollutants released by the Palisades and Eaton fires. Here too, confusion has arisen due to Trump’s directives, particularly one mandating that cleanup operations be completed within a 30-day timeframe.

This timeline is unprecedented, EPA staff on the scene informed ProPublica, leading to logistical challenges and a lack of community engagement in determining the most effective cleanup strategies. “We’re doing as much as we can, but we’re quickly running out of time,” stated an EPA employee involved in the response.

As of Wednesday, the agency had finished hazardous material removal at over 4,600 locations, according to a statement from EPA spokesperson Molly Vaseliou. “EPA is on track to meet President Trump’s ambitious cleanup timeline,” she confirmed.

As Trump continues to sign executive orders intended to downsize the federal workforce, firefighters have expressed concerns about their long-term job viability.

On February 11, a Trump directive mandated that agencies could only hire one new employee for every four who exit the government. Firefighters across various divisions reported uncertainty regarding whether their positions are safeguarded by an exemption for public safety, but no clear information has been provided.

“The two million federal employees are viewed as adversaries, although we’re not,” stated Kelly Martin, former chief of fire and aviation at Yosemite National Park. “This has severely impacted the morale of federal employees who have dedicated their lives to this work and relocated their families to rural areas, only to find themselves pondering, ‘Will I still have a job?’”