The US is woefully underprepared for wildfire season, say insiders: ‘The stakes are life and death’

Efficiency' cuts across offices have left teams understaffed, firefighters underpaid and uninsured, and without adequate equipment

Summer temperatures are rising and the US is bracing for another hot, dry and hectic wildfire season. But with the promise of extreme conditions in the months to come, federal fire crews are also growing concerned that a series of changes brought on by the Trump administration have left them underprepared.

Severe cuts to budgets and staff have hamstrung the agencies that manage roughly 640m acres of the nation's public lands, leaving significant gaps in a workforce that supports wildfire mitigation and suppression. The administration's crackdown on climate science and the dismantling of departments that provided world-class research and weather forecasting, may also undermine early warning systems, slowing response and strategic planning.