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Top Democrats on the House Committee require Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins to explain the inconsistency between her official statement on staffing wild firefighters and the Propobrica report showing that there were thousands of vacant seats as the forest service’s firefighters workforce approached.
In June, the Forest Service claimed it had reached 99% of its recruitment target for wild fire workers. However, Propublica’s report showed that agencies selectively count firefighters and present optimistic evaluations to the public. Data obtained by Propublica shows that as of July 17, 27% of employment were vacant.
Rep. Robert Garcia, a California Democrat and ranking member of the Committee on Surveillance and Government Reform, requested Rollins in a letter sent Thursday morning. “The Trump administration’s staffing decision has already exacerbated a dire situation. The Forest Service’s firefighting capabilities are hampered by government efficiency and Trump administration layoffs, resignations and other early retirements and resignations, which are hampered by climate change, which extends the season of fire,” he writes.
The Forest Service’s claims regarding its preparation are contradicted by its own statistics, not just its own staff, but also the wild California firefighters cited in the Propublica report, known as the 99% figure “severely inaccurate.” In July, Propublica reported that its fire and aviation management program included more than 4,500 active vacancies, including key major firefighters positions such as Hotshot, dispatchers and engine captains, according to agency data. At the time, a spokesman for the Agriculture sector disputed that the Forest Service had many vacant seats within the fire and air management program but would otherwise not provide data. A Forest Service spokesman later argued that Propovica’s figures were inaccurate, saying “their numbers probably come from outdated organizational charts and unfunded positions.” However, Propublica excluded all unsupplied locations from the analysis, and that data was obtained from the active agency organization chart.
When asked to support the allegations that the agency’s firefighters were fully staffed, the spokesman wrote: “The Forest Service is fully prepared and operated to protect individuals and communities from wildfires. The Forest Service has over 19,000 workers, both firefighters and air management groups who are qualified to respond to incidents.”
The Forest Service claims that it is fully staffed for fire season. The data shows thousands of unskilled jobs.
Experts say the agency has long resisted providing a comprehensive and transparent breakdown of wild firefighting capabilities. “They are not going to report their size unless Congress mentions them,” said Robert Kuhn, a former Forest Service official who co-authored such an assessment between 2009 and 2011. Kuhn cited the costs and efforts involved in analyzing a vast and complex agency. Earlier this year, labour advocacy organization Grassroots Wildland Firefighting wrote, “No federal agency has developed a modern formula for determining the number of wildland firefighters and support personnel that are truly needed to address the issues of the 21st century.” Most federal wild firefighters work for the Forest Service within the Department of Agriculture. Additionally, the federal government employs thousands of wild firefighters in four agencies in the Department of the Interior. President Donald Trump ordered them all to integrate their wild fire program. No details regarding that unification have been released.
Each year, the Forest Service reports that it filled its rank with what is known as a leading firefighter. However, the basis for the claim that the valuation – the agency has reached 99% of its employment target, according to current and former Forest Service employees, is misleading on many levels. The Forest Service simply counts “operational firefighters” working within a specified salary range. That figure includes both temporary seasonal firefighters who have just joined the agency and experienced year-round veterans, but do not distinguish between the two, thus eliminating a major loss of institutional knowledge. In recent years, agents have struggled with the departure of experienced firefighters. The agency’s assessment excludes both senior-level fire managers and critical support staff. The firefighters at Public Associates Wildland are their most iconic figures. Smoke jumpers, hotshots and engine crew members. However, the country’s wild fire equipment includes, for example, talent experts, ecologists, wilderness rangers, meteorologists, trail workers, and other employees who are qualified to allow them to work in the fire industry. These qualifications are listed under what is called “red cards.” Archaeologists may have a red card that can oversee the distribution of food in firefighting materials.
The recently deceased staff received an email in August about a job opening for the Forest Service’s Wildland Fire Force. Credit: Retrieved and edited by Propublica
Approximately 1,600 red card-shaped staff left the government this winter and spring, according to internal data reviewed by Propublica in July. The Forest Service claims the actual figure is 1,400. Garcia called for a full accounting of Doge’s impact on the Forest Service, and “requested for staffing, employment, power reduction, a postponed resignation program, or “forks on the road,” as well as all documents and communications regarding the Forest Service’s fire resources and capabilities.
The rosy public assessment of the institution’s unique power is also supported by its efforts to rehire workers who were forced to do so. In a July memo, Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz allowed the agency to not have enough resources and to recruit staff for red luggage that are now away from the agency. Recently, an email reviewed by Propublica shows that since July 22nd, the Forest Service has left and sent multiple recruitment notices to recruited staff. The email promotes dozens of openings for mandatory firefighter positions such as dispatchers, engine captains and hotshot supervision in at least seven states. When asked about the email, the agency spokesperson wrote, “There is an active recruitment of FY26.”
In his letter, Garcia requested that Rollins provide the Board of Supervisors since January 20th “a detailed and comprehensive accounting of current staffing and staffing changes at the Forest Service, including the Fire Forces.”
