They expressed their concerns in letters last week to Trump agency leaders, who insist that safety won’t be affected

By Lynne Terry, Oregon Capital Chronicle

Oregon’s Democratic U.S. House members — and other Democrats in the House — warned last week that firing firefighters and employees at agencies that manage federal land could have drastic consequences for the upcoming fire season. 

The federal government owns just over 50% of Oregon’s land, and it’s mainly managed by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

In two letters, Oregon’s House members called on the new head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the U.S. Forest Service, and the recently appointed secretary of the Department of the Interior, which oversees the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service, to reverse the recent firing of thousands of employees.

“The hiring freeze and staffing cuts have harmed the livelihoods of dedicated public servants across our state and will directly undermine public safety,” Oregon’s five Democratic House members wrote Thursday to interior head Doug Burgum and USDA chief Brooke Rollins. “Fewer firefighters and insufficient staffing during fire season exacerbate fire response delays, prevent effective mitigation efforts, and place lives, property, and our environment at greater risk.”

Rep. Janelle Bynum led writing of that letter, while Rep. Andrea Salinas, another member of Oregon’s House delegation, joined with two Democratic representatives from California in crafting a letter to Rollins that expressed similar concerns about firefighting resources. That letter, sent Wednesday, was also signed by the other Democrats in Oregon’s House delegation among 80 Democratic House members. 

They asked Rollins to bring back employees who were recently fired, saying that action would have “catastrophic consequences” on wildfire prevention efforts nationwide. 

“These cuts, compounded by the decision to freeze federal funding for a long list of critical programs and grants, could leave our public lands more vulnerable than ever to the threat of wildfires, which are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change,” they said in a letter sent Wednesday.

The letters followed Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and other Western governors urging Rollins last week to reconsider funding cuts and protect grants intended for wildfire mitigation. Kotek told reporters she met with Rollins at the White House last week during the National Governors Association meeting and received reassurance that the USDA would reassess wildfire grants and hiring seasonal employees. 

“I think it was heard,” she said. “I think they’re going to reassess that. It will be very difficult for us to be ready for the fire season without full partnership from the federal government. My understanding from those meetings is that they are reassessing, and I hope they do that quickly. It will have an impact on our rural communities.”

One congressional  letter emphasized that with climate change causing more extreme wildfires, Oregon and California, especially, have recently experienced devastating fire seasons. Last year, wildfires burned a record 1.9 million acres in Oregon, just four years after the Labor Day fires killed nine people and burned thousands of homes. And southern California last month experienced its most devastating wildfires in history, with two fires claiming at least 28 lives and damaging more than 18,000 structures.

“These tragedies underscore the urgent need for ongoing community risk reduction and wildfire mitigation strategies that the U.S. Forest Service is tasked with carrying out,” the letter said.

The letter cited news reports saying that the agency had fired 3,400 people across the country, but a statement from an unnamed spokesperson to the Capital Chronicle said the service had let 2,000 go. The spokesperson said that none of them were involved in firefighting and that all were on probation.

“None of these individuals were operational firefighters,” the statement said, adding that “Secretary Rollins is committed to preserving essential safety positions and will ensure that critical services remain uninterrupted.” 

The spokesperson declined to say how many were fired in Oregon. According to the latest data from the federal Office of Personnel Management, nearly 4,220 full-time U.S. Forest Service employees worked in Oregon last September and nearly 930 had been working with the agency for less than a year. Probationary employees can also include those who’ve recently been promoted.

Although the agency insists that no firefighters were fired, news reports show that employees involved in firefighting have been given the axe, including a park ranger who spoke to OPB.

The lawmakers said those firings leave the agency “dangerously understaffed.” 

Bynum’s letter also mentioned news reports citing that 1,000 Park Service employees have been fired along with 800 people at the Bureau of Land Management. It’s unclear how many of those were in Oregon. 

The Office of Personnel Management shows that as of September, there were nearly 1,520 Bureau of Land Management employees in the state and that nearly 180 had been working less than a year. Nearly 195 Park Service employees were working in Oregon last September, and nearly 20 had less than a year on the job.

“Reports that firefighters and employees with fire mitigation duties have been terminated are very concerning and require your immediate attention,” the letter to Rollins and Burgam said. 

The other letter asked Rollins for a response to several questions, including the number of fired Forest Service employees who’ve been fired since Jan. 20, their title, location and other information. 

The letter also asked what the agency has done to restore wildfire mitigation programs that have been disrupted by the firings and funding freeze, its plans for supporting personnel that manage federal land and whether it will restore funding already approved by Congress for wildfire prevention and firefighter support.

“We urge you to reconsider these cuts and ensure that the Forest Service and other agencies are fully equipped to handle the growing wildfire crisis,” the letter said.

Lynne Terry has more than 30 years of journalism experience, including a recent stint as editor of The Lund Report, a highly regarded health news site. She reported on health and food safety in her 18 years at The Oregonian, was a senior producer at Oregon Public Broadcasting and Paris correspondent for National Public Radio for nine years.