'Really bad, really quick': Firefighters said to be panicked as Trump policy kneecaps them

President Donald Trump's decision to freeze federal hiring is impacting life-saving firefighting efforts, according to a new report.

CNN over the weekend reported that Trump's hiring freeze "comes at a critical time, when fire departments across the country would typically onboard thousands of seasonal federal firefighters in preparation for wildfires in the spring and summer."

The report quotes Ben McLane, a federal hand crew captain and board member with Grassroots Wildland Firefighter, as saying, “It’s going to be really bad, really quick."

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McLane is further quoted as telling CNN, "We’re going to have a lack of personnel when fire season gets going... The precedent that we’ve seen over the last few decades at this point is making us pretty certain that it’s going to be a big fire season again.”

According to CNN, "The federal hiring freeze, initiated through one of the executive orders the president signed on his first day in office, dictates that no new federal civilian positions can be created and no vacant positions can be filled."

"Federal firefighters are an essential part of the nation’s firefighting capability. The Department of the Interior employed 5,780 federal wildland fire personnel in 2024, while the US Forest Service employed over 11,300," according to the outlet. "The majority of firefighters employed by the federal government are seasonal, hired as either permanent or temporary employees."

CNN goes on to report, "The freeze also comes as fire departments across the country have already faced staff shortages. In Los Angeles, where devastating wildfires killed dozens of people and destroyed thousands of homes in January, the fire department is less staffed than almost any other major city, with less than one firefighter for every 1,000 residents."

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