The US Gears Up for the 2023 Wildfire Season

The rate and intensity of wildfires is increasing year over year, drawing concern from health officials that chronic exposure to toxic compounds constitutes an acute public health crisis. Wildfire smoke is particularly hazardous not only because it is made up of known compounds like carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and dangerous particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter, but because of unknown mixtures based on what the fire has burned. This unpredictability makes it challenging to evaluate the direct health impacts on communities affected by fires and their smoke.  

Research from North Carolina State University suggests that wildfire events are increasing in frequency, largely doubling since the 1990s. They mainly point to climate change as one of the main factors contributing to this rise in frequency. This is because climate change brings a fluctuation in overall temperatures, increased drought events, and less rainfall, all of which reduce community resilience to fires. The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration confirms this link to climate change, indicating that all of these factors can expect to become more prevalent in the coming years should action not be taken against climate change. 

In January 2022, the United States Forest Service, housed under the Department of Agriculture, introduced a ten-year strategy to address vulnerabilities in communities that stand to be most affected by increased wildfire outcomes. “Confronting the Wildfire Crisis: A Strategy for Protecting Communities and Improving Resilience in America’s Forests” expands on legislation called Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act after another historic wildfire year, the strategy invests $5.5 billion in Forest Service lands and resources including some Tribal lands.  

One year on, the Forest Service recognized that targeting specific areas and regions can further aid in the safeguarding of community health. Utilizing funding from the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022, the Forest Service has selected 11 discrete regions in the American West to focus acute wildfire prevention efforts on for the next ten years. These include regions in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and parts of Northern and Eastern California that have been severely affected by increasing wildfire damage.  

The scope of work includes 208,000 acres of wildfire risk reduction treatments, as well as resources for 16,700 firefighters and equipment including “more than 200 helicopters, 35 single-engine air tankers (SEATs), 360 pieces of heavy equipment and nearly 1,600 engines”.  

Initial investment in the Confronting the Wildfire Crisis plan came in the form of funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill that committed around $5 billion to various projects like targeting high-risk areas, workforce investment, and grants for the most vulnerable and at-risk communities residing in both public and private forests. The subsequent Inflation Reduction Act committed an additional $5 billion, mainly targeted at building critical infrastructure and adaptation measures for extreme heat resilience. The funding also aims to improve forest health overall to prevent the spread of uncontrolled fires.   

But a difficult issue that the Forest Service and the Department of Agriculture continue to struggle with is the recruitment and retention of their workforce. Wildfire fighting is vastly different than fighting fires in urban settings. On top of employing firefighters, other considerations such as planning, medical resources, delivering food and supplies, and the establishment of basecamps and command posts all complicate the issue of fighting wildland fires.  

The United States Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior employs about 18,700 firefighters, fighting an average of 7 million acres of fire per year. Entry-level firefighters often earn a wage of $15 per hour, which in some regions can be lower than working in other, safer industries like food service. About 70% of these firefighters are year-round workers. There are significant health and safety risks to being a wilderness firefighter, and it is considered one of the more dangerous jobs in the country.  

While the United States Forest Service’s plan represents positive adaptations toward lessening the impact of wildfire on the Western US, comprehensive climate change mitigation needs to occur to lower the overall incidence of fires. Beyond efforts to add to the firefighting workforce, strategies like sustainable forest management, education, and reducing the human activities that lead to warmer temperatures and climate change will need to be explored to ensure the continued safety of vulnerable populations.