'We're dry:' The new U.S. Wildland Fire Service prepares for extreme fire season

"“We're dry and we're expecting the pace to pick up significantly here any time,” said the recently appointed head of that service, Brian Fennessy, in an interview with NPR's All Things Considered host Emily Feng."

"“We're trying to bring on additional aircraft and bring them on early,” he said. The agency is also bringing on more fire crews earlier in the year."

"“If we don't want fires to be growing so large that they have catastrophic consequences for people and ecosystems, then the best tool we have at our disposal is large prescribed fires,” Williams said."

"The agency is a product of an ongoing White House effort to combine all the parts of the federal government that fight fires. NPR's Emily Feng spoke with Chief Fennessy to learn how his agency is preparing for the fire season ahead, and because of a new policy the Wildland Fire Service has been instructed to carry out this summer that some say prioritizes putting out fires over trying to prevent them with prescribed burns."

Wildland firefighters face a potentially severe wildfire season across the country. The U.S. Wildland Fire Service, created by the Trump administration, aims to coordinate federal wildfire-fighting efforts. The agency plans to bring additional aircraft online early and add more fire crews earlier in the year. Some wildfire experts argue that prevention should receive greater emphasis, including large prescribed fires to reduce the chance of catastrophic fire growth. A new policy instructs the Wildland Fire Service to carry out actions this summer that some observers say prioritize suppressing fires over preventing them through prescribed burning.

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