As job cuts at the US Forest Service and National Park Service become one of the latest casualties in the Department of Government Efficiency’s attack on the federal workforce, questions turn to how this will affect efforts to prevent and battle wildfires. Sadly, both agencies have been underfunded and understaffed for quite some time. The latest salvo is just another blow to agencies already weakened by austerity measures and disagreements over the federal government’s role in mitigating the effects of climate change.

The roles of the National Park Service and Forest Service are best understood by recognizing how each state is a diverse combination of federal, state, local, tribal, and privately owned land. Each entity has different resources for forest management and fire protection. To give you an idea of how that works in a state, federal agencies such as the Forest Service and National Park Service own and manage 19 million acres in California, 57 percent of that state’s forests. Another approximately 3 percent of the land is owned by a combination of state and local agencies, including California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE); local open space, park and water districts; and land trusts. Finally, families, Native American tribes, and companies own the remaining 40 percent.

With such a complicated landscape, cross-agency cooperation is undoubtedly a key element to keeping things under control. In California, that is accomplished through the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, which brings together federal, state, local, public, private, and tribal organizations to align programs and projects with each region’s priorities and risks. However, California relies on federal money and staff to achieve these goals. As California has invested more money, Congress has been cutting federal agency resources, such as budget and staffing (Figure 1). The only exception was in 2024 under the Biden administration, thanks to investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.

Figure 1

But even a shot of funding in 2024 couldn’t help the agencies catch up with all the work that needs to be done. The long-term neglect by Congress has had consequences. Last October, the Forest Service announced it would stop prescribed burning in California “for the foreseeable future,” stating that the decision was made as a precautionary measure to ensure the availability of staff and equipment in case of potential wildfires. Without prescribed burning, which involves intentionally setting controlled fires to remove dry vegetation that could serve as “ladder fuel,” wildfires can spread to taller vegetation. According to California’s wildfire task force, the amount of prescribed burns conducted by federal, state, and local agencies almost doubled between 2021 and 2023, with 260,000 acres treated in 2023. Data for 2024 is not available yet.

DOGE’s latest move raises more questions about how cuts will affect not just preventive measures but fighting actual fires. In July 2024, the US Forest Service employed 11,393 wildland firefighters nationwide — 101% of the agency’s goal of 11,300. The National Park Service employs 400 permanent and 600 seasonal employees in its wildland fire and fuels management program.  While the Trump administration claims firefighters were exempt from the firing of probationary employees, plenty of stories show the opposite. Support staff who have been let go play a critical role in assisting firefighters and often act as secondary firefighters themselves.

The timing of DOGE’s actions could not be worse. Wildfires are increasing in intensity, size, and frequency. As one expert at Duke University said, “We don’t have a fire season anymore; we have a fire year.” The January fires in Los Angeles highlighted the vulnerability of many US cities, not just in California, to devastating fires. The US Forest Service’s jurisdiction covers 193 million acres of land, about the size of Texas, and the National Park Service covers 85 million acres. That is too large of an area to be left unstaffed and unmanaged. Congress and the administration should be investing more in fire and forest protection. Instead, all signs indicate the privatization of public lands for resource extraction and more disaster for the American people.