The second week of January is the traditional start of an increasingly compacted training season for wildland fire and other public safety agencies. Our ability to respond is greatly influenced by our training. 1/9
Because of the shutdown, valuable training will be lost, qualifications will be unmet, and it will likely be more difficult to staff key positions on the fireline and on incident management teams. 2/9
The TN-KY Wildland Fire Academy will officially be cancelled tomorrow because federal employees are needed to instruct and fill out the classes. Under the shutdown, no travel or training is allowed. The fire year starts in the SE US before heading west in March & April. 3/9
State-wide fire academies are increasingly common and bring together fed, state, and local resources for an intense week of multiple classes. The Colorado Wildfire Academy, scheduled for next week, will take place but have a reduced capacity. 4/9
Fire academies are scheduled well in advance & cannot be easily made-up. In addition to the academies, many individual classes will be cancelled. Fire refreshers, the basic required training for every wildland firefighter, will be cancelled in many offices across the country. 5/9
If a shutdown lasts until 1/11, classes affected may include: Geospatial Fire Analysis, Intermediate & Advanced Incident Command, Organizational Leadership in Fire, National Aerial Firefighter Academy, Smoke Mgmt, Safety Officer, Expanded Dispatch, & Advanced Fire Effects. 6/9
In addition, the American Meteorological Association meets next week. There will be no presenters or attendees from the National Weather Service or other federal agencies that rely on meteorologists. The NWS mission includes the protection of lives and property. 7/9
This is the second shutdown in less than 12 months that--thanks to the lengthened fire year--falls within an increasingly shortened training window. The fed response community needs to stay current & we desperately need to train more to respond at all levels of government. 8/9
If this shutdown doesn't end soon, it will not only affect how we respond in 2019, it will have a cascading influence throughout the next few years. Bottlenecks in key classes will be created, qualifications will be missed, opportunities will be lost. We can't afford it. 9/9
@threadreaderapp unroll
