Federal agencies are hiring seasonal firefighters in Colorado as summer approaches

BROOMFIELD — As Colorado faces what is forecast to be a normal fire season, federal and state officials on Thursday declared themselves ready to face whatever happens in 2025 despite federal government cuts.Managers with the Bureau of Land Management and U.S.

Forest Service in Colorado said they are hiring the normal number of seasonal firefighters this spring and expect those numbers to remain steady for the year.So far, the BLM has hired 54 seasonal firefighters in Colorado after employing 58 last year, said Doug Vilsack, the BLM’s state director. And the Forest Service has hired 560 firefighters for the Rocky Mountain region with the expectation of reaching the 761 the agency employed last year, said Troy Heithecker, the region’s forester.



The availability of federal firefighters has been a concern in Colorado as President Donald Trump has slashed federal jobs, including within the BLM and Forest Service.The one potential cut that could impact Colorado’s wildfire preparedness could come from AmeriCorps, a federal work program, which includes firefighting in its mission.Gov.

Jared Polis on Thursday said the state has 500 AmeriCorps workers lined up for fire suppression and mitigation work, although the Associated Press reported that AmeriCorps has been targeted by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and last week placed most of its staff on administrative leave.“We’re not sure the status of that, but as of now, they are ready to go and be deployed,” Polis said of the AmeriCorps workers earmarked for Colorado.Polis gathered with Colorado fire and public safety leaders to discuss the wildfire forecast at the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control’s aviation hangar at the the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport.

It’s an annual briefing where state fire officials discuss their expectations and availability for the upcoming year. They were joined this year by representatives from multiple federal agencies that share responsibility for fighting fires on public lands.The forecast for 2025 calls for a normal fire season, but that means the state could still see up to 6,000 wildfires ignite, said Mike Morgan, director of the state’s fire prevention division.

Those fires could burn about 150,000 acres.Southeast Colorado, including Las Animas and Baca counties, will have an elevated risk of wildfires throughout the spring, Morgan said. That escalated threat will move later in the summer to southwest Colorado, including the San Luis Valley, because of ongoing drought conditions.

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