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Trump’s cuts to federal wildfire crews could have ‘scary’ consequences

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missouriindependent.com – Alex Brown – 2025-02-18 07:28:00

Trump’s cuts to federal wildfire crews could have ‘scary’ consequences

by Alex Brown, Missouri Independent
February 18, 2025

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — President Donald Trump’s moves to slash the federal workforce have gutted the ranks of wildland firefighters and support personnel, fire professionals warn, leaving communities to face deadly consequences when big blazes arrive this summer.

“There’s going to be firefighters that die because of this, there will be communities that burn,” said Steve Gutierrez, a union official who served 15 years as a firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service.

Gutierrez now serves as a labor relations representative with the National Federation of Federal Employees, which represents government workers. He said thousands of wildland firefighters have had their jobs thrown into limbo by Trump’s government-wide hiring freeze.

Brian Fennessy, chief of the Orange County Fire Authority and president of the California Fire Chiefs Association, echoed that concern. “The public needs to know they’re at risk,” Fennessy said. “If the public knew all of this, they would lose their minds.”

Federal agencies depend on an army of seasonal firefighters to fill their ranks during the months when wildfires are most active. Scott, a Forest Service firefighter with six years of experience in the Western United States, who asked to be identified by a pseudonym to avoid retaliation, is among those whose role has been thrown into uncertainty.

“It’s just going to be a disaster for the wildfire response this season,” he said.

Scott was slated to move to a new Forest Service fire station this spring. But following the federal hiring freeze, he was told by his captain that it’s unclear whether his new job still exists. Thousands of his colleagues are in a similar state of limbo.

In a statement to Stateline, the Forest Service said wildland firefighting jobs are considered public safety positions that are exempted from the hiring freeze, and the agency is working with the federal Office of Personnel Management on those positions. The agency did not respond to follow-up questions about the number of unfilled positions under review.

The U.S. Department of the Interior and Bureau of Indian Affairs did not grant Stateline interview requests.

Federal agencies employed more than 17,000 wildland fire staffers last year, many of them in seasonal roles. This year, many of those workers had job offers rescinded — or had their transfers and promotions put on hold — just as they were set to begin onboarding and training for the 2025 fire season.

Trump’s efforts to cut the federal workforce are led by his newly created commission dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency, helmed by billionaire Elon Musk, the world’s richest man.

Aside from the hiring freeze, the Forest Service fired an additional 3,400 staffers this week, many of whom provided critical support for wildfire operations. Meanwhile, Trump’s freeze on federal spending has cut off funding for projects such as prescribed burns to reduce future risk. Wildfire officials offer mixed reports on whether that funding has been restored in the wake of judicial rulings.

“We are watching a valuable [federal] partner in wildland fire suppression go into this fire season unnecessarily handicapped,” said Thomas Kyle-Milward, wildfire communications manager with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. “That’s concerning.”

States, tribes and fire chiefs are all watching the situation closely. Officials say they’re preparing for a fire season in which they may have minimal federal support. While they plead with Trump to reverse course quickly, they fear much of the damage may be irreversible. Many wildland fire officials noted that seasonal workers will likely move on to other jobs if their position with a federal agency is in doubt.

“If there’s not enough federal firefighters, that affects everybody in the state,” said Jake Rhoades, fire chief of Buckeye Fire-Medical-Rescue Department in the Phoenix suburbs and president of the Arizona Fire Chiefs Association. “That’s scary for me.”

Rhoades and others noted that firefighters need significant training and qualifications to fill leadership positions. Trump’s actions have delayed that onboarding process. As a result, engine crews could be grounded this summer because they don’t have a certified leader, or teams could be sent into harm’s way without the proper training.

The federal role

Wildland fire response in the U.S. is a collaborative effort shared by a variety of entities, from tiny local fire districts to massive federal agencies. In Western states especially, the feds play a crucial role. Agencies manage a vast landscape of national forests, national parks and Bureau of Land Management parcels. The Bureau of Indian Affairs also provides wildfire response on tribal reservations.

While state agencies have invested heavily in their own wildfire crews, they say the federal agencies are critical partners.

“If they’re unable to fill the majority of their positions, it would have an impact on everybody this summer,” said Vaughn Jones, wildland fire management section chief with the Colorado Department of Public Safety. “We have to partner with them every day of every fire season.”

Trump’s orders have thrown those agencies into chaos.

“I hear it multiple times a day from folks who are applying for jobs, from folks who are trying to fill positions, and they’re all getting stymied,” said Bobbie Scopa, executive secretary with Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, a nonprofit that advocates for federal staffers. “These folks are worried about their families and paying the mortgage, and they’re worried about their physical safety if they’re going to be responding to fires with a crew that’s not staffed up all the way.”

Federal firefighters corroborated that account.

“They’re saying there’s this public safety exemption, and that’s a blatant lie, because I’m a wildland firefighter and my job has been frozen,” said Scott, the Forest Service employee.

Scott said many of his colleagues were among the 3,400 Forest Service employees fired last week. While the agency said those cuts do not include firefighters, wildland fire experts note that many staffers in other roles hold wildfire certifications and serve on the line during fire season. And nearly all of them play critical support roles for the agency’s wildfire response.

Another Forest Service firefighter, who asked to remain anonymous, said the cuts to his unit included an aviation manager who supervised helicopter contracts and crews, as well as mapping specialists who provided key information to wildfire crews.

“There’s going to be days where we can’t call a helicopter because of staffing,” he said. “From a mapping perspective, our intelligence-gathering is going to be really affected by losing those people.”

Scott said he’s begun applying for other jobs, but is still holding out hope he can stay with the Forest Service. But he said many other firefighters will have moved on by the time the feds get their act together.

A wildfire planner  in a Western state, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation, said the impacts of Trump’s cuts will be felt long beyond this fire season.

“This could end up costing us a generation of firefighters,” he said. “They think a two-month delay doesn’t mean anything, but people get laid off and they find other work. This is a very specific skillset, and there ain’t many people in this work.”

Officials at all levels say that recruitment and retention of firefighters is already a major challenge. Wildland fire workers must accept unsteady seasonal positions, with grueling hours and exposure to dangerous conditions and cancer-causing smoke. Many suffer from mental health issues as a result. And the profession’s paltry salaries, experts say, rarely match the demands.

Contingency plans

State and local leaders say they’re still working to make sense of the federal chaos. In Nevada, where 86% of the land is managed by federal agencies, the turmoil could have an outsized impact.

“Obviously, we’re a little nervous right now,” said Kacey KC, the Nevada state forester and fire warden. “We’re putting contingency plans in place for emergency hires for fire season, if need be.”

KC said a loss in federal support would be a huge blow to Nevada’s wildfire response efforts. As the state works to staff up its own crews, it has seen an increase in applicants from federal agencies, perhaps indicating that the uncertainty is driving Forest Service and BLM employees to other jobs.

In Arizona, officials say they plan to lean on an interstate compact that allows them to share resources with Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Jones, the Colorado official, said such agreements could be essential this year.

“If [federal support] is diminished, those compacts and the states finding ways to make things happen will be critical,” he said.

Nevada is one of the few states that has not signed onto a wildfire compact. KC said she’s pushing lawmakers to authorize the state to join such agreements.

In Washington state, the Department of Natural Resources is planning to meet with regional Forest Service leaders to assess what adjustments they may have to make.

“Are the feds able to field an adequate number of firefighters that they can cover their jurisdiction within Washington state?” said Kyle-Milward, the DNR official. “We’re concerned that they won’t.”

In recent years, the state has invested heavily in its own response, staffing up to 700 firefighters, in an effort to become less dependent on federal agencies.

Tribal nations are also trying to make sense of the situation. The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs employs thousands of firefighters that respond to fires on tribal lands. And many tribes staff their own wildfire crews using federal funding that’s now in doubt.

For the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, in northeast Washington state, it’s unclear whether they’ll be able to hire the seasonal firefighters they rely on during wildfire season.

“It’s definitely a touch-and-go situation right now,” said Chairman Jarred-Michael Erickson. “We’re hoping to get answers sooner than later. I really hope they’re looking at this, because wildfire season comes really quick and if you’re not prepared…”

In 2023, wildfires burned more than 57,000 acres on the Colville Reservation.

Prevention work

Trump’s freeze on federal spending is another major concern for wildfire professionals. In Washington state, for instance, officials have lost access to more than $200 million in wildfire preparedness funds, the Seattle Times reported. That money was intended to help agencies purchase equipment, train local departments, plan evacuation routes and conduct fuels reduction projects like prescribed burns to reduce risk.

Wildfire experts say the Inflation Reduction Act and infrastructure law passed under President Joe Biden made significant investments in projects to improve forest health and prevent out-of-control megafires. Trump has attempted to block those grants.

“If we’re not able to do that in certain areas, then the fuel load is going to be impacted, and that increases the possibility of the magnitude of some of these fires,” said Rhoades, the president of the Arizona Fire Chiefs Association.

The Western wildfire planner, who asked to remain anonymous, said the funding freeze is threatening projects to improve the safety of local communities.

“[Trump] is driving the wildfire prevention train off the rails,” he said. “I’m hoping that this year is not the year that the big fire shows up in my neighborhood.”

In California, leaders have not yet seen a cutoff in federal money to support wildfire projects, said Patrick Wright, director of the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, a coalition of state and federal agencies. He noted that the state has committed billions of its own funds to ensure the work continues.

Wright said the state expects to retain a strong partnership with federal land management agencies. But he noted that the recent firings of thousands of federal staff would impact the pace of their work.

“It will slow things down,” he said. “We’re all facing shortages in workforce across the board. Clearly, losing more of that workforce is going to have an impact.”

Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org.

Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com.

The post Trump’s cuts to federal wildfire crews could have ‘scary’ consequences appeared first on missouriindependent.com

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Missouri health department rejects Planned Parenthood plan to start medication abortions

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missouriindependent.com – Anna Spoerre – 2025-03-28 18:18:00

by Anna Spoerre, Missouri Independent
March 28, 2025

Missouri Planned Parenthood clinics remain unable to offer medication abortions after the state rejected their complication plans this week. 

Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, which operates clinics in the St. Louis region, Rolla and Springfield, and Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which operates clinics in Kansas City and Columbia, received a letter from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services on Thursday stating their complication plans did not meet state requirements.

The decision means that almost five months after voters approved a constitutional amendment restoring abortion rights, the most common method to terminate a pregnancy is not available in Missouri.

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This rejection was based on the criteria of an emergency rule published the same day by the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office. 

That rule requires the complication plan for any facility prescribing abortion medication to more than 10 women a month must: 

Have an on-call OB-GYN who lives within 25 miles of the clinic available at all times for seven days after a patient takes the medication. This physician would be required to treat any complications that arise as a result of the medication unless the standard of care requires someone else to treat them. Provide for patients who live further than 25 miles from the clinic, the name of the emergency room and a physician “within a reasonable distance of the location where the patient will complete the abortion.”Submit the full names of all physicians involved in the local complication plans.

While three clinics —Columbia, Kansas City and St. Louis — have resumed some procedural abortions, Planned Parenthood leadership have said they will not begin prescribing medication abortions without an approved complication plan. 

Leadership with Planned Parenthood Great Rivers is still deciding on next steps, a spokesperson said. 

The Department of Health and Senior Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement in February, department spokeswoman Sami Jo Freeman said complication plans are “important to ensure the safety of patients because medication abortions will likely be completed at home without a physician present.” 

When the clinics submitted their complication plans in February, they did not include the names of any physicians involved. The proposals state that patients could contact the clinic at any time with concerns, including an after-hours line staffed by licensed nurses who can refer calls to an on-call physician. 

“If a potentially urgent complication is suspected based on the patient’s symptoms or the patient is not able to return to the health center in a timely way, the nurse will direct them to the emergency department (ED),” the initial plans submitted by Planned Parenthood read. 

With the patient’s consent, the proposal continued, the ER would be told the patient’s medical history if possible. Planned Parenthood would follow up with the patient the next day.

Across the country, abortion medication is the most common method used to end a pregnancy.

In 2023, nearly two-thirds of abortions in the United States took place using medication as opposed to in-clinic procedures, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights research group.   

In states where abortion is legal, medication that induces a miscarriage is available to patients in their first trimester of pregnancy. Patients typically take two doses of medication, the second of which is often taken at home. In recent years, a growing number of women have been ordering abortion medication from online providers in the United States and abroad, including to states where abortion remains illegal. 

According to the FDA, mifepristone is safe to use if taken as directed. Cramping and bleeding are common side effects of the medication. Those prescribed mifepristone are urged to call their doctor if they experience heavy bleeding, abdominal pain or a fever. The same guidance applies to those who recently underwent procedural abortions, experienced miscarriages or delivered a baby.   

Since the medication was approved for use 28 years ago, only 32 deaths have been reported associated with mifepristone, according to the FDA. 

Earlier this month, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey issued a notice of an intent to serve a cease and desist letter to the Planned Parenthood clinics, doubling down on his demand that Planned Parenthood stop performing a type of abortion that its clinics aren’t actually offering patients.

Several Planned Parenthood clinics remained open even after the procedure was outlawed statewide in June 2022. The clinics primarily provide family planning services, cancer screenings and STI testing and treatment, including to patients on Medicaid. 

Shortly after Missourians in November narrowly approved Amendment 3, granting the constitutional right to an abortion, Planned Parenthood sued the state, arguing dozens of regulations on abortion providers were no longer constitutional. 

In mid-February, a Jackson County judge struck down most of the regulations, allowing Planned Parenthood to resume in-clinic procedural abortions for the first time in years. 

Abortion returns to Columbia, opening access for mid-Missouri for first time since 2018

The first abortion to happen in Missouri since the procedure was outlawed statewide in June 2022 took place in February at a Kansas City clinic. In early March, procedural abortions returned to the clinic in Columbia for the first time since 2018. 

And on Thursday, the clinic in St. Louis quietly performed its first two abortions since 2022. 

The clinic plans to take additional abortion patients who are earlier than 12 weeks gestation over the coming weeks, but the number of days abortion is provided in St. Louis will depend on physicians’ schedules, Nick Dunne, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood, said Friday.

Staff at the St. Louis clinic did not initially indicate they would bring back procedural abortions this soon. 

“Ahead of the December ruling, our staff had been preparing to start providing medication abortion — including staff training, as well as ordering supplies and medications,” Dunne said in a statement. “Recognizing more recently that we were likely to face additional hurdles from state officials on medication abortion, our medical and patient services teams pivoted to allocating staff, equipment, and other necessary resources in order to begin offering procedural abortion again.” 

Planned Parenthood likely won’t be able to begin offering procedural abortions at its clinics in Rolla or Springfield until additional physicians are hired, Dunne said, adding that Planned Parenthood is “working aggressively” to expand their physician numbers.

There are currently two long-term staff physicians and one contracted physician at Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, which also oversees the clinic in Fairview Heights. The two long-term physicians are both based in the St. Louis area. 

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Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com.

The post Missouri health department rejects Planned Parenthood plan to start medication abortions appeared first on missouriindependent.com

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PWHL Takeover Tour in St. Louis

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www.youtube.com – FOX 2 St. Louis – 2025-03-28 08:18:10

SUMMARY: The PWHL Takeover Tour arrives in St. Louis at the Enterprise Center tomorrow afternoon, showcasing women’s hockey with the Boston Fleet competing against the Ottawa Charged. Mandy Gottman, VP of Communications for the Professional Women’s Hockey League, emphasizes the excitement as they reach their 99th stop on the tour. The league, formed in January 2024, features top players, including St. Louis native Tommy Gincy Rose, a notable Olympian. This event highlights women’s hockey’s growth, with increased participation in the region. Fans are encouraged to arrive early for warm-ups and to support their teams with signs.

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Mandy Gutmann, Communications for the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), joined the morning show to preview a matchup between the Ottawa Charge and Boston Fleet, who will be playing at the Enterprise Center on Saturday. For tickets, visit ticketmaster.com

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Weather Impact Alert: Severe weather chances ramp up Sunday

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www.youtube.com – KSDK News – 2025-03-28 05:19:56

SUMMARY: A weather impact alert has been issued for St. Louis, indicating potential severe weather on Sunday, specifically between noon and 5 PM. While Saturday will see some morning showers, no severe weather is expected. Early Sunday may also bring non-severe storms, but an enhanced risk for severe weather persists in the afternoon, including threats of wind, hail, and possible tornadoes. Temperatures will reach around 82°F this weekend. Meteorologists urge residents to monitor updates and track storms through apps as conditions remain active into the week, with another round of storms anticipated on Wednesday.

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A Weather Impact Alert has been issued for Sunday’s storm threat. Damaging winds, hail & tornadoes are all possible.

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