United States Sens. John Curtis of Utah and Adam Schiff of California recently wrote a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, advising to increase the number of firefighters tasked with wildfires in the US Forest Service.
Their letter, focusing on “red card” employees with the certification to assist career firefighters, came after the Department of Agriculture lost 1,400 red-carded employees, mostly to resignations and probationary terminations.
Red cards take time to issue, and the backlog has grown ever since the start of the federal government’s downsizing efforts this year. While the Forest Service has asked over 600 red card employees to come back to fill the gaps, Curtis and Schiff warn that the shortages will cause more strain for firefighters in the middle of wildfire season.
There have been 46 wildfires in Iron County this year, which is eighth place among Utah’s 29 counties. With the increasing length of the wildfire season in Utah, a minimized Forest Service may cause issues in the Cedar City area.
For more information on the current Utah wildfire status, visit the 2025 season summary.
Author: Payson Davis
Photo: Courtesy of Sydney Weaver
Editor: Briar Adams
outdoors@suunews.net
