🇺🇸 영어 원문
The U.S. Forest Service says it has now exceeded its wildland firefighter hiring targets for this summer’s fire season.
Newly released numbers provided by the agency to NPR show that 11,550 seasonal staff are now either being trained or ready to deploy, which is about 200 more than their initial goals and about 6% ahead of schedule compared to this time in recent years.
U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz credits the solid numbers to recent pay raises for wildland firefighters. The hiring comes as Western states are historically dry and on edge, with fast moving wildfires igniting in the last day in and around populated areas such as Spokane, Washington.
“I think the conditions we have are alarming,” Schultz told NPR. “But the Forest Service will be prepared for this season.”
But in the West, many state officials and former agency employees aren’t so sure given the continued downsizing of the agency.
Since President Trump returned to the White House last year, the USFS has lost close to 6,000 permanent staff to layoffs, buyouts or early retirements. The agency is also undergoing a massive reorganization which includes moving its headquarters to Utah and the closure or consolidation of dozens of research facilities and regional offices. The Trump administration says it wants to put the agency closer to the actual forests it manages.
But Dave Upthegrove, Washington state’s elected public lands commissioner says, “these layoffs at the federal level are presenting risk as to our ability to respond to major wildfires.”
He’s worried that the downsizing of the Forest Service will lead to a shortage of elite incident command teams that states like his rely on during major fires. An untold number of permanent staff like rangers or timber technicians who have been let go recently also held what are called red cards, meaning they’re trained to leave their regular jobs and deploy to wildfires.
“If we have a bad year for fire throughout the United States it could mean a shortage of these federal teams,” Upthegrove says. “We are preparing contingency plans.”
🇰🇷 한국어 요약
안녕하세요! 이번 주 영어 뉴스는 미국의 산불 대응 상황에 대해 다루고 있습니다. 미국 산림청 (U.S. Forest Service) 이 올여름 산불 시즌을 대비해 필요한 소방관 채용 목표를 초과 달성했다고 발표했습니다. 약 11,550 명의 계절직 직원들이 훈련 중이거나 출동 준비가 완료된 상태라고 해요. 이는 목표보다 약 200 명 더 많은 숫자이며, 작년 같은 시기보다 6% 빠른 속도입니다.
산림청장 톰 슐츠는 소방관들의 임금 인상이 채용 증가의 큰 원인이라고 설명했습니다. 하지만 서부 지역은 역사적으로 건조한 상태라 산불 위험이 높은 상황입니다. 반면, 일부 주 정부 관계자들은 우려를 표명하고 있습니다. 최근 행정부의 정책 변화로 인해 영구 직원들이 대량으로 감축되었기 때문에, 대형 산불 발생 시 대응 능력이 떨어질 수 있다는 것이죠. 특히 전문 지식을 가진 직원들이 떠남으로써 중요한 명령 팀이 부족해질 수 있다고 경고하고 있습니다. 이처럼 환경 문제와 정책 변화가 어떻게 서로 영향을 미치는지 살펴보는 좋은 기사입니다.
🔑 핵심 단어 (Vocabulary)
- Deploy – 배치하다, 투입하다 – 11,550 seasonal staff are now either being trained or ready to deploy.
- Seasonal – 계절적인 – 11,550 seasonal staff are now either being trained or ready to deploy.
- Alarming – 경각심을 불러일으키는, 놀라운 – I think the conditions we have are alarming.
- Downsizing – 인원 감축, 축소 – given the continued downsizing of the agency.
- Layoffs – 해고, 정리해고 – the USFS has lost close to 6,000 permanent staff to layoffs.
- Reorganization – 재조직, 개편 – The agency is also undergoing a massive reorganization.
- Consolidation – 통합, 강화 – closure or consolidation of dozens of research facilities.
- Contingency – 비상 사태, 우발 사건 – We are preparing contingency plans.
- Igniting – 점화하다, 발화하다 – wildfires igniting in the last day.
- Elite – 엘리트, 최정예 – shortage of elite incident command teams.