Wildlands Firefighters Stay On the Lines Despite Federal Shutdown

Wildlands firefighters are excepted from the federal government shutdown and stand ready to battle any wildfires brought by the very high fire danger this week in the San Gabriel Valley.

Fire bureaus have enough resources to fight off possible fire amid the expected critical fire weather conditions brought about by Santa Ana winds, a fire official told the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

“Given the potential for fire activity in Southern California now and in the near future, we do have resources in the area and stationed in other parts of the country ready to respond if needed,” U.S. Forest Service spokesman Leo Kay told the newspaper.

The U.S. Forest Service had written a Contingency Plan on September 20 stating that the department expects 41 percent of its 32,015 employees to continue working despite the shutdown, including about 9,800 of which are engaged in fire suppression activities, securing and protecting property at field locations and managing some timber sale contracts, Wildfire Today reported.

During the last U.S. Government shutdown in 1995, the firefighters who worked without pay during the crisis were paid after the shutdown and were given paid vacation, the Wildfire Today reported.

The National Weather Service said the Santa Anita winds are expected to peak Friday midday and will persist, but will weaken from Friday afternoon through Saturday. Temperature will range from 5 to 10 degrees above normal.

A very low relative humidity is also expected for Los Angeles County. By Friday morning, relatively humidity is expected to fall sharply into the mid teens and will drop to a single digit by Saturday.

The weather bureau warned that “if fire ignition occurs, there could be rapid spread of wildlife that would lead to a threat of life and property.”