A bipartisan pair of lawmakers urged Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Wednesday to boost the number of Forest Service employees qualified for wildfire duty, as the agency scrambles to fill gaps left by its own workforce reductions.
Sens. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and John Curtis (R-Utah) asked Rollins in a letter to ensure the Forest Service has enough “red card” employees — or workers whose main jobs aren’t in firefighting but have certifications to assist — as fire season progresses.
Around 1,400 red-carded employees were lost in earlier rounds of workforce reductions, mainly through deferred resignations the Agriculture Department encouraged, the Forest Service has said.
Others were caught up in the department’s terminations of probationary workers earlier in the year, although some were hired back after legal challenges.
