Colorado fire officials are concerned that the uncertainty over a federal hiring freeze implemented by President Donald Trump will have detrimental impacts on the state鈥檚 wildland work force ahead of peak wildfire months.
The Forest Service, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management have all seen job cuts. Colorado communities that fund federal positions are worried their workers will be targeted.
The freeze, which stalled the hiring of some seasonal federal firefighters, along with last week鈥檚 elimination of more than 150 federal workers who help manage more than 24 million acres of public lands in Colorado, could leave the state鈥檚 firefighting workforce unprepared, local fire chiefs told The Colorado Sun.
The federal hiring freeze, initiated through President Trump signed on his first day in office, says no new federal civilian positions can be created and no vacant positions can be filled, except in limited circumstances. It says public safety employees are exempt but questions lingered for weeks around firefighters and those who provide critical support for wildfire operations.
鈥淲hat I worry about is, better firefighters in high demand are going to go other places. They may end up filling in with a lot of inexperienced firefighters,鈥� Brad White, president of Colorado State Fire Chiefs, said.
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