Wildland Firefighting Agencies Ready Despite Shutdown

If a fire sparks in the mountains this weekend it's going to very hard to stop it, weather officials said as hot and dry winds are expected to move into areas of Southern California. Fire officials say despite the federal government shutdown, resources will be available in the event of a fire during the expected Santa Ana conditions. "Our firefighters -- hotshot crews, smokejumpers and others -- are excepted employees under the government shutdown. Given the potential for fire activity in Southern California now and in the near future, we do have resources in the area and stationed in other parts of the country ready to respond if needed," said Leo Kay, U.S. Forest Service spokesman via email on Wednesday. "If we don't have adequate resources on board to handle new incidents, we have mechanisms to call employees back. We are doing everything we can to be ready but also to comply with the shutdown situation."...more