In the southwestern United States, wildfire season kicked off earlier than usual this year as dangerous drought conditions persist across a staggering 48 percent of the nation.
Meanwhile, state and federal forestry services are struggling to fill thousands of vacancies for wildland firefighters as would-be applicants turn to more lucrative and less demanding careers.
The worst part of fire season typically hits between June and August. Nonetheless, as of May 21, the country has already experienced 26,321 wildfires that have destroyed more than 1.6 million acres.
In New Mexico and Arizona, this is particularly prevalent. Due to the early surge in conflagrations, President Joe Biden issued a disaster declaration for New Mexico on May 4….