The Wildland Firefighter Exodus and New Mexico’s Biggest-Ever Wildfire [Video]

At a moment when record-setting fires seem to occur every year, America is at risk of losing its most valuable defense: wildland firefighters. The job has always been dangerous, but it’s become even more so in recent years as blazes intensify, fire season expands and drought primes the West to burn. A ProPublica investigation co-published with Outside Magazine found that the Forest Service is failing to retain experienced firefighters, suffering an attrition rate of 45% among its permanent employees in the past three years. Poor compensation (wages start at $15 per hour), cancer risk and mental health issues have all contributed to this exodus. Read the investigation here: https://www.propublica.org/article/wildland-firefighters

The first part of this event outlined the many challenges federal wildland firefighters face; the second part examined a worst-case scenario when prescribed burns go wrong. In 2022, the Calf Canyon and Hermits Peak fires began as federal prescribed burns, then escaped and merged to become New Mexico’s biggest-ever wildfire. ProPublica and Source New Mexico spent more than a year reporting on the catastrophic aftermath, spotlighting residents’ experiences and chronicling the slow machinery of recovery under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s watch. Nearly two years later, many residents remain in an uneasy state of limbo: forced off their property, out of work and unable to rebuild. Read “The Long Burn” series here: https://www.propublica.org/series/the-long-burn

Our speakers included:

– Abe Streep, journalist and author of “Brothers on Three: A True Story of Family, Resistance and Hope on a Reservation in Montana”
– Antonia Roybal-Mack, attorney and founder and managing partner of Roybal-Mack & Cordova PC
– Ben Elkind, active wildland firefighter entering his 17th season
– George Broyles, former wildland firefighter who led the Forest Service’s smoke research program between 2008 and 2014
– Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico reporter and ProPublica Local Reporting Network member
– Yolanda Cruz, learning hub coordinator at Santa Fe Community Foundation
– Kit Richalis, ProPublica senior editor (moderator)

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ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism with moral force.

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