Bynum Fights to Protect Firefighters from Cuts

Washington, DC - Today, Congresswoman Janelle Bynum (OR-05)led the entire Oregon House Democratic delegation in sending a letterto the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior, urging both department heads to reconsider the ongoing hiring freeze and termination of employees at the United States Forest Service (USFS), National Park Service (NPS), and Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

To date, 3,400 USFS employees, 1,000 NPS employees, and 800 BLM employees have been fired, including federal wildland firefighters. Without sufficient funding and staffing, agencies will not be able to maintain their preparedness and training programs, leaving Oregon at higher risk of destruction during the next wildfire season.

"The hiring freeze and staffing cuts have harmed the livelihoods of dedicated public servants across our state and will directly undermine public safety," the Members wrote. "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."

During the Labor Day Fires in 2020, Oregon communities were devastated by the Santiam Fire, which destroyed over 1,500 structures over 400,000 acres, nearly decimating the Detroit and Gates communities, and severely damaging Idanha, Mill City, and Lyons. Last year, a record 1.9 million acres burned across the state, indicating that fires of that magnitude are becoming more frequent.

The safety of our communities and our firefighters depend on your swift and decisive action…" the Members continued. "Without appropriate and sufficient federal firefighting resources that support response and mitigation, Oregon faces a higher risk of destruction when the next wildfires strike."

Read the full letter here and below:

Dear Secretary Rollins and Secretary Burgum,

We write to express our urgent concerns regarding the ongoing federal civilian hiring freeze and the termination of probationary employees at your respective agencies. Specifically, we are concerned about the impact these actions will have on critical wildland firefighting and wildfire mitigation efforts by the United States Forest Service (USFS), National Park Service (NPS), and Bureau of Land Management (BLM). We urge you to take immediate action to avert the potentially catastrophic consequences of these actions by exempting all employees serving in firefighting, fire mitigation, and fire suppression roles from staffing cuts, and immediately reinstating any federal employees who were recently dismissed from these roles.

Like many states throughout the west, Oregon has been significantly impacted by the escalating wildfire crisis, which poses major consequences for the health and safety of our communities and threatens our public lands and natural resources. The Labor Day Fires in 2020 were one of the most destructive in Oregon's history, destroying over 5,000 homes, forcing evacuations of more than 40,000 Oregonians, and burning over 1.2 million acres across eleven Oregon counties. These crises have unfortunately become more common as last year a record-breaking 1.9 million acres burned across the state. Federal wildland firefighters and mitigation units at USFS, NPS, and BLM are instrumental in wildfire response on federal lands throughout our state, in addition to supporting state and local fire response efforts. Without appropriate and sufficient federal firefighting resources that support response and mitigation, Oregon faces a higher risk of destruction when the next wildfires strike.

The ongoing federal civilian hiring freeze and staffing cuts undermine wildfire preparedness and put wildland firefighters and the public at greater risk. We are troubled by reports that the federal hiring freeze has led to the recission of promotions and seasonal jobs offers at USFS, NPS, and BLM, which has created uncertainty for current employees and disrupted the agencies' ability to hire necessary staff in preparation for the upcoming fire season.

Moreover, recent terminations of probationary employees at federal land management agencies further worsens wildfire preparedness. To date, at least 3,400 USFS employees, 1,000 NPS employees, and 800 BLM employees have been fired. While the Administration has stated that public safety roles would be exempted from staffing cuts, reports that firefighters and employees with fire mitigation duties have been terminated are very concerning and require your immediate attention.

The hiring freeze and staffing cuts have harmed the livelihoods of dedicated public servants across our state and will directly undermine public safety. 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.

The safety of our communities and our firefighters depend on your swift and decisive action. We urge you to ensure that employees serving in firefighting, fire mitigation, and fire suppression roles are exempted from staffing cuts and to immediately rehire recently dismissed firefighters and fire mitigation employees.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to your prompt response.

###