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Study: Pay, experience positively impact wildland firefighter retention; competing wages not so muchUsing a sizable dataset and an innovative methodology, researchers have just published a study looking at factors that influence retention for Hotshots, among the most experienced and highly trained workers on the fireline.
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Last week Congress passed another continuing resolution that includes an extension of temporary raises for wildland firefighters through early next year. Advocates say that’s better than nothing, but also that the lack of a permanent pay solution is having real effects on hiring managers and firefighter morale.
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A new study shows that grassland fires burn more land and destroy more homes than forest fires. Yet more homes are being built in these fire-prone areas across the nation, including the Mountain West.
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A new paper analyzing the effectiveness of prescribed fire finds that they can substantially reduce the probability of high-intensity fires for as long as six years after the burn.
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The Nature Conservancy has been working with prescribed fire for years, often with federal agencies like the U.S. Forest Service. Leaders say a new multiyear agreement with the USFS and other recent developments will help get more beneficial fire on the ground, and could serve as a model for expanding prescribed fire efforts across the region.
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In the new Modern West podcast series, a family loses their beloved home in Colorado’s Marshall FireThe Modern West podcast just released the trailer for its new series. “The Burn Scar” tells the story of podcast producer Ariel Lavery, how her parents were evacuated, and how her family lost their home in the Marshall Fire, an urban grassfire that burned into the suburbs of Boulder in the middle of winter in 2021. The Modern West’s host Melodie Edwards sat down with Ariel to talk about why she decided to produce a podcast about this devastating event, and starts by asking what made the Marshall Fire so unusual.
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The move comes amid broader efforts to address longstanding working condition issues in the federal fire force.
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In recent years, wildland firefighters have organized to demand change – and have chalked up some notable successes. With longstanding pay issues still unresolved, spouses of firefighters are also starting to organize. Some of them recently formed the group Fired UP to help channel their grievances – and push for additional reforms.
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Many Mountain West homeowners live near wildfire-prone areas and are used to seeing smoke outside their window. But that smoke might linger in the home longer than previously thought, according to new research done by Colorado State and other universities.
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A new study from Portland State University suggests that some of the Mountain West’s glaciers do not qualify as glaciers anymore due to their size and lack of movement.