In California, lawmakers are trying to dramatically increase staffing for the state's firefighting agency.
As wildfires burn from California to New Mexico to Texas, a young wildfire season is already aggressive. And for the ones charged with dousing the flames, it's exhausting.
In California, lawmakers are considering measures to dramatically increase staffing for the state's firefighting agency, desperate to relieve the strain. "Those firefighters are fighting fires for 24, 48, 72 hours with no relief," Cal Fire Firefighters Local #2881 Vice President Patrick Walker said."Bringing in fresh firefighters allows them to rest, start back over and continue that aggressive assault."This kind of strain is no stranger for firefighters in wildfire-prone states.
"Early on, it was not as easy to talk about calls that affected me," he said."It's one thing to say that, 'I'm here for you.' It's another to feel that support. It's okay not to be okay. It isn't okay not to reach out, though."