Tim Sheehy (MT-R) Op Ed

[u/HeaviestSoftHitter]

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/heres-how-doge-can-help-save-lives-money-from-wildfires.amp

I think this Op Ed authored by Tim Sheehy of Montana and published by Fox News should be worthy of each of our attention. After much speculation within this subreddit, this is the first stone cast that sheds some light on what the next four years may look like for the industry and plans for DOGE to be involved in reform within the industry.

For the most part, this opinion piece is full of fluff that panders to constituents who do not have an intimate understanding of the role various agencies play in firefighting. In other areas, the piece is nothing more than fear mongering in an effort to drum up naive support for massive federal reform at the expense of both the public and industry employees. Sheehy heralds “Adopting a more proactive, aggressive initial attack policy across agencies” but offers no substance on how to implement said policy, or address chronic personnel shortages, disparities in resource allocation and funding, or the environmental factors that play a significant factor in a fire’s resistance to control.

Sheehy continues “Aggressive initial attack relies on utilizing private resources, which are usually the quickest, most effective response option if we want to limit the size and scope of wildfire damage.” This is arguably the most concerning part of this opinion piece, rooted in nothing that even remotely resembles reality and is likely a reflection of Sheehy’s only real exposure to wildfire coming from his involvement in privately contracted aviation. From my perspective, this is Sheehy saying the quite part out loud, alluding to future efforts to continued privatization of Wildland firefighting. The importance of firefighting being a public service, not to be compromised by private efforts to line the pockets of company owners via the work of under experienced and undertrained, has been expressed within this subreddit.

I, as an individual, cannot force my coworkers, peers, and cooperators to pay attention to these statements and efforts. But I can actively work to remind folks that the federal government’s involvement in wildfire is the basis for the vast majority of employment, funding, training, and standards within the industry, regardless of if you’re employed by a federal agency, a state agency, a cooperator, or a contractor. Any effort to dismantle that should be quickly rebuked as nothing short of unacceptable. These are incredibly turbulent times for the industry, and I imagine like many of my peers I wait with bated breath to see how we fair over the coming years.

[u/[deleted]]

As a Montanan, I’ve been warning this sub about this POS. The number of dumb fuckers in fire here in this state that voted for him, haven’t been around long enough to know.

This is exactly what president Musk and VP Trump want.