firefighters

Lawmakers are trying again to pass a bill that would help communities around the state recruit firefighters as a way of lowering response times and saving lives.

Over the Labor Day weekend, thousands of wildland firefighters were told they’d be receiving a 50% bump in their pay. It was welcome news since a temporary pay raise is set to expire this month. But, as it turns out, those raises were a mistake.

During a historically devastating fire season, President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that wildland firefighters will receive a temporary pay raise and benefits like mental health services will be more readily available. Firefighters think the hike is promising, though it may not be enough to retain future firefighters in the southwest.

Projected to double in size in the coming days, the Calf Canyon/ Hermit’s Peak Fire continued to rage in northern New Mexico––threatening towns and villages and forcing thousands to flee. Now, erratic winds are pushing the flames closer to Mora and Las Vegas.

The U.S. is facing a jet fuel shortage this summer. It’s causing long delays at airports across the West as well as some concern among aerial firefighters.

Severe weather may have played a role in the deaths of two veteran firefighters in a plane crash in northwest Arizona over the weekend.

Women don’t become firefighters at nearly the rate that men do in the U.S. Now, forest service officials in New Mexico are working to have crews that…