With wildfires already having burned across the Texas Panhandle this year, Wildland firefighters may be looking at a long 2024 wildfire season.Aravaipa Hotshot Katie Williamson, left, instructs a Wildfire academy student using a chainsaw, Monday, March 11, 2024, in Prescott, Ariz. Forecasters are warning that the potential for wildfires will be above normal in some areas across the United States over the coming months as temperatures rise and rain becomes sparse.
With fires growing in size and duration, federal officials in charge of juggling resources and dispatching crews are pivoting to a new business model they describe as the biggest shift in wildfire management in decades. They say it will offer more flexibility when responding to wildfires and ensure that there are more personnel with the training and qualifications needed to deal with the most complex fires.
was active for more than three months and grew to 1,505 square miles . Nearly 2,000 personnel were assigned to that fire., a conflagration sparked by two prescribed burns that escaped from forest managers. The largest and most destructive wildfire in New Mexico’s recorded history, it burned for more than four months before it was contained.has been a priority across federal land management agencies. Many positions are seasonal, averaging six months.