Drought has put U.S. forests into a 'state of emergency,' chief of the Forest Service tells Congress

"The government needs to quicken the pace of its fuel reduction work in public forests at the same time that it marshals enough crews to fight wildfires, said Forest Service Chief Randy Moore at a House hearing on Wednesday," the Food and Environment Reporting Network reports. "So far this year, nearly 46,000 wildfires have burned 5.9 million acres and more than 4,500 homes, commercial properties, and outbuildings."

About 63 million acres in national forests are rated at high hazard or very high hazard for wildfires that would be difficult to contain, he said. That represents a third of national forest land, and includes communities in the forests' proclamation boundaries, where the Forest Service can buy land.

"This is in part a result of 110 years of overly aggressive fire suppression policies as well as climate change," Moore said. "The sobering takeaway: America’s forests are in a state of emergency, and it’s time to treat them like one."

One problem with protecting forests and communities against firefighters: sometimes property owners and agricultural interests are fighting back against proposed wildfire mitigation policies. That's what's happening in Oregon, Cassandra Profita reports for NPR.

Another problem: Moore said firefighters often aren't paid enough, and the turnover rate is high, the FERN reports. "We must ensure a stable, resilient firefighting force," Moore said. "We are in a constant mode of training new employees." The Biden administration gave many full-time federal firefighters a 10% pay bonus this year and tried to ensure all federal firefighters make at least $15 an hour.