The Associated Press interviewed Chief of the U.S. Forest Service Tom Tidwell and reported that there will be 500 fewer wildland firefighters working for the agency this year. Here is an excerpt from the article:
The agency, which is trying to absorb a 5 percent cut in its preparedness funding due to sequestration, plans to preposition firefighters and other resources in areas where fire activity is expected to be above normal.
The funding cut will mean about 500 fewer fighters and 50 fewer engines with crews. The agency will also have to rely more on aircraft that are not on contract with the federal government, and Tidwell said that could ultimately lead to higher firefighting costs.
“We will respond like we always have, whatever it takes for us to be prepared,” he said.
By “aircraft that are not on contract with the federal government”, Chief Tidwell probably is referring to borrowing again from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre or the state of Alaska some of their CV-580 air tankers — as long as they are not needed in Alaska or Canada. The CV-580 holds a maximum of 2,100 gallons and are modified Convair CV-340 or CV-440 aircraft manufactured between 1947 and 1954 which have had the piston engines replaced by turbo-props.
It has been 1 year, 3 months, and 13 days since the U.S. Forest Service issued their solicitation for next-generation air tankers, but no contracts have been awarded. The federal contracts for all large and very large air tankers expired December 31, 2013. Some of the expired contracts have been temporarily extended for a few months.
Thanks go out to Rick
Chris, those unstaffed engines were a result of full time forest service firefighters (ahem sorry, forestry technicians) jumping ship for cal fire at the earliest possible convenience in order to get higher pay and better benefits. With the recent cuts in the Cal Fire budget that retention issue has resolved itself. You’re probably right though, if I had to guess I would say that most of the unstaffed engine crews will probably be the ones who currently have unstaffed captain/assistant captain/feo positions. What about the temps on those engines? well…
This is why the forest service is consistently rated as one of the worst places to work. The 500 seasonal employees who have been hired to work on those 50 engines probably won’t find out that their positions and crews have been eliminated until a month from now and they are about a week away from reporting and it is too late for them to get another position. We’ve known about the possibility of sequestration for almost a year, and the reality of sequestration for weeks and yet as I write this the forest service is going through the process with seasonal firefighters, who, unbeknownst to them, have already had their positions eliminated. Could we have figured this out two months ago so that these folks had other options? Of course not, because as far as the washington forest service leadership is concerned seasonal firefighters can go f*$% themselves.
“We will respond like we always have, whatever it takes for us to be prepared,” he said”
Pretty easy for this guy to say. I would be very careful saying “whatever it takes.”
Sounds pretty sure of himself…Better get that L180 thru 380 course re-read. ‘Cuz the USFS is forever borrowing resources (written) and otherwise from the real aviation world. Ego, impulsivity, etc come to mind with no real plan other than to go on with the 2013 fire season just like the 2012 fire season, aircraft-wise.
Failure to plan is planning to fail is what I have often heard…….what is the kids are saying these days??? Oh….just sayin!
Maybe the USFS is looking for readily trained Chinese aircrews and Pulaski swingers in their “whatever it takes methodology!”
“The funding cut will mean about 500 fewer fighters and 50 fewer engines with crews.”
The in recent past the Forest Service has struggled to hire seasonal employees and staff Engines. A few years ago something like 50 (?) Engines went unstaffed in California because there were no applicants.
So is he saying they are going to cut 500 actual hires or 500 positions some of which go unfilled anyway? Same question regarding Engines. Are they going to cut 50 Engines that are actually staffed or are some of the cuts goingto be Engines that go unstaffed because they cant get people to apply?