Hursty
Just as a caveat, most firefighters are not Federal. They’re State-funded. Those making the small, Federal wage are typically clearing brush and doing preventative work. Often in prison-diversion programs. They’re not Kurt Russell in Backdraft. Not diminishing their efforts, just saying it’s not as simple as it may seem. That wage hike is also temporary.
The frustrating thing has been the blame game. The vast majority of forest land in California is Federally-owned and is under their purview. So when that dipshit Trump blamed the fires on mismanagement….well there you go.
We also have the issue of people living where they shouldn’t. Yes, it’s nice to live in the woods. FUN. But when those same homeowners block any and all attempts at controlled burns - which have been done for centuries - because they don’t want to deal with the inconvenience of smoke for a week or two, we end up with massive infernos. This year is going to be worst than last. Next year will be even worse. Same the following. Until we run out of things to burn. And then we’re truly fucked.
