At least one authority on wildland fire is voicing concern about the potential effects the current federal government shutdown will have on the 2019 fire season. Bill Gabbert, publisher of “Wildfire Today,” an online magazine dedicated to that field, points out that this is normally the time of the year when federal agencies who fight wildfires are heavily into the hiring of seasonal firefighters and other workers. The process may vary a bit among the federal agencies and from region to region, but generally, Gabbert says by the first part of January they have been accepting applications for several months — and officials would have started evaluating candidates in mid-December. Most of the wildland firefighter training is conducted during the off season, from late Fall into Spring. However, one firefighter told “Wildfire Today” that the training calendar in some areas is scrubbed for the month of January, including at least seven classes held in Boise – the home of the National Interagency Fire Center. Meanwhile, the US Forest Service maintains that fire responders for the nation’s 2019 fire suppression season are considered under the shutdown plan including some essential training.
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