Across the American West, a season of record-breaking fire has collided with a workforce hollowed out by federal cuts, leaving firefighters to hold lines that cannot be held with the hands available. The nation has lost not just acreage to flame, but the institutional memory and logistical backbone that once made coordinated response possible. In Nevada, nearly 900 structures fell and residents waited nearly a day for warnings — not because the danger was invisible, but because the system built to act on it had been quietly dismantled. What burns now is not only forest, but the question of wha
Firefighter Shortages Hamper Response to Record 8.5M-Acre Wildfire Season
Communities experienced delayed evacuations during the Hawk Fire near Reno, Nevada, with residents not receiving threat warnings until nearly 24 hours after the fire started, and the Hawk Fire destroyed close to 900 structures.