US Wildfire Season Ramps Up Amid Crippling Staffing Shortage

US Wildfire Season Ramps Up Amid Crippling Staffing Shortage
An Orange County firefighter looks for hotspots near a residential area in the Silverado Fire October 26, 2020, in Irvine, Calif. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images
Autumn Spredemann
Updated:
In the Southwestern United States, wildfire season kicked off earlier than usual this year as dangerous drought conditions persist across a staggering 48 percent of the nation.

Meanwhile, state and federal forestry services are struggling to fill thousands of vacancies for wildland firefighters as would-be applicants turn to more lucrative and less demanding careers.

Autumn Spredemann
Autumn Spredemann
Author
Autumn is a South America-based reporter covering primarily Latin American issues for The Epoch Times.
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