Senator Adam Chef, extend California, on Friday, called Many American agencies to exempt seasonal wild firefighters From the freezing of continuous federal employment, concerns about the federal preparedness of the sea in the future intensified.
Chef’s speech follows a news report on NBC and President Donald Trump on January 20. She stopped on board thousands of firefighters It can contribute to a shortage of the next firefight season.
“I urge you to exempt federal firefighters immediately from freezing federal financing, stopping the firefighters to resign, and providing information about how these measures affect the employment of seasonal firefighters in the service and preserving of the forests,” Chef wrote on Friday . A message to the United States of Agriculture, which supervises the American forest service, which is a basic fire -control agency; Ministry of Interior (Doi); The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which runs the federal budget.
Forest fires that started last month in the Los Angeles region At least 29 people were killedHe destroyed nearly 17,000 structures and forced thousands to escape from their homes. Firefighters responded to the United States’s forest service to many of the most harmful fires in the Los Angeles region. The federal crews were Thanks to saving the neighborhood.
From Friday afternoon, As mentioned by NBC NewsWild firefighters are not considered exempt from the freezing of employment. Federal agencies, including the Land Management Office in Doui and Forest Service, are employing more than 15,000 seasonal firefighters every year.
in January 21 is a noteGary Washington, Acting Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, said that there are no exemptions within his agency, which includes forest service.
“The seasonal firefighters are necessary for the general safety of those who live in the areas exposed to the fire, and I am concerned that federal firefighters are not a party to this exemption.”
OMB and USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday about the Schiff letter. The Personnel Management Office, which could be granted exemptions according to Trump’s executive order, did not answer immediately on Saturday to request a comment and questions about whether the seasonal firefighters would be considered exempt.
“The Ministry of Interior is implementing the executive order for President Donald Trump through the federal civil workforce. Elizabeth Salam, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Interior, wrote,“ The matter allows exemptions for some positions, including those related to public safety. ”The administration is working to employ major positions that will continue In the protection of public and tribal lands, infrastructure and societies from the effects of forest fires through dangerous fuel management and fire preparedness in washing and close cooperation with agencies partners. “
