Trump's staff cuts are forcing firefighters to clean toilets as US wildfires rage.

Former and current employees of the U.S. Forest Service have complained that the Trump administration has reduced the federal workforce, leaving fire teams understaffed. This is as the U.S. struggles with a record number of wildfires this year.

These claims were rejected by the agency that oversees America's largest wildland-firefighting force. It said it had sufficient resources.

More than a dozen U.S. Forest Service active and retired employees said the agency was struggling to fill key roles after about 5,000 employees, or roughly 15% of their workforce, quit in the last five months.

According to firefighters in Oregon, New Mexico and a Pacific Northwest fire chief who recruits support staff, the vacancies are causing personnel to be held back in frontline firefighting due administrative duties.

The crew leader of an Oregon fire said that her team was left without food for days, medical supplies and chainsaw fuel, after the support staff had quit during two rounds "forks in the road" buyouts.

The crew leader of the Alder Springs Fire said, "I had guys going to bed after working 16 hour shifts," and asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing their job.

National and local USFS officials, however, say that the force is prepared for what will be a fire year worse than average in California, the Pacific Northwest and the northern Rockies. This is according to National Interagency Fire Center predictions.

Isabella Isaksen is the USFS Public Affairs Officer who represents USFS Operations in Central Oregon. She said, "Our staff are very confident about our staffing levels as we enter this fire season."

Isaksen explained that the food issues on the Alder Springs Fire was due to a newly hired caterer, and they were quickly fixed. She said that medical supplies, chainsaws, and other equipment were readily available at the 3,400-acre fire, which prompted evacuations in both counties.

They are ready

The Trump administration has pledged to not cut firefighting jobs and other public-safety positions in firings and voluntary resignations. They also promised to take early retirements to increase efficiency at the USFS. This agency manages roughly 193 million acres (78 million ha), which is the same size as Texas.

USFS employees interviewed for this article said that the loss of thousands foresters, biologists and trail builders was having an impact on firefighters.

These people claim that not only do firefighters have to fill vacant positions at ranger station, but also they are losing hundreds of their peers who switch from regular jobs each year to firefighting support roles in the fire season which runs from spring until fall.

USFS Chief Tom Schultz told agency managers on Wednesday to make available all the "red-carded", fire-qualified staff for an "extremely difficult" fire year. This memo was seen by. Wildland firefighters were called out to 41,000 fires in the first half of this year, which is by far the most since federal data dating back at least to 2015. Year to date, wildfires have consumed 2.9 million acres, which is below the 10-year-average of 3.3 millions acres.

Last month, Schultz said to a U.S. Senate Committee that he wanted to temporarily hire 1,400 support staff with "red cards" who had taken buyouts.

Schultz replied, "I believe they are prepared," when asked if the fire-year 2025 was ready.

FIREFIGHTERS mow the lawns

In June, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins who oversees USFS said at a gathering of Western state Governors in New Mexico, that the agency is on track to hire 11,300 firemen by mid-July. This will be a record number compared to the hiring in the previous three years.

According to the latest USDA data, as of June 29, 11236 people, or 99%, had been hired. This is slightly lower than last year.

The USDA denied claims that staff shortages endanger communities, forests and firefighters.

A USDA spokesperson stated that any suggestion of firefighting duties being deferred or given less priority is incorrect. This is not a second mission. It is at the heart of our work in public safety, and each decision reflects this urgency.

New Mexico U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich criticized Trump's administration for firing and rehiring 3,400 USFS probationary employees, of which three quarters were red-carded. He also criticized its agency-wide buyouts, and what he described as its indiscriminate staff hiring practices.

Heinrich stated in an email statement sent on July 11 that "Wildfire Season is well underway and the U.S. Forest Service has been gutted thanks to DOGE, Donald Trump and their policies."

The Forest Service claims it doesn't have enough wildland firefighters to deal with the "wildfire crisis" in the United States and relies on "red-carded employees" to "boost firefighting capability."

Forest Service employees are not the only ones who see problems.

Steve Ellis, Chairman of the National Association of Forest Service Retirees said that his checks with Oregon fire staff revealed no reports of firefighters being hungry or having other support issues.

Riva Duncan, an officer assigned to a New Mexico fire, told reporters that even firefighters are being used to fill in the gaps created by job losses. This is exacerbating the long-standing shortage of personnel who can operate fire engines.

They're answering the phones at the front office, cleaning toilets in campgrounds, or mowing lawns at administrative sites," Duncan, a retired USFS Fire Chief who reenlists every fire season, said. Duncan also helps run Grassroots Wildland Firefighters - a federal firefighter advocate group.

Fire staff officers in the Pacific Northwest reported that managers had told support staff they must first meet Trump's targets for increased oil and gas production and timber sales, which are higher than ever.

The fire chief who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals said, "They claim we get all we need but in reality it's not even close." (Reporting by Andrew Hay; Editing by Donna Bryson and Diane Craft)

(source: Reuters)