This article originally appeared on the IAFC.org blog.
LOS ANGELES — “The amount of devastation [is] really hard to grasp when you see it on TV or on your phone. To be boots on the ground yesterday and see it firsthand…it’s a really sad moment to see this area [and witness] all these communities, neighborhoods that are just completely gone. This is not, ‘we lost a couple houses here or a couple houses there.’ Entire neighborhoods are just gone.”
Chief Josh Waldo (Bozeman MT), President and Board Chair of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, visited several wildfire sites in California this Friday and spoke with officials on the ground. The IAFC will play a central role in legislative discussions related to the recent fires, both in Washington, DC, and numerous state capitols.
“As we come out of these fires and we start talking to legislators, whether it’s at the local level, the state level, or the federal level, we’ve got to have a shared voice, a common message of what needs to happen to prevent and mitigate these kinds of events,” he said. “And that’s where the IAFC comes in. Obviously, we’re going to be very active in Washington DC talking to Congress about what needs to happen – not only during but post-fire for these kinds of events. But then we also stand ready to help state associations as they work through their state capitols or even down to their local levels.”
Chief Waldo praised firefighters for their tireless efforts against some of the most destructive wildfires in American history. “A lot of folks, they were here for 24, 48, 72 hours before reinforcements got here. And so not only are they physically fatigued, but they’re mentally fatigued [after] seeing what’s going on in these neighborhoods, in these communities. It takes a toll.” As a representative of the IAFC, Waldo was especially focused on the need for strong collaboration between departments during events like these.
“From the operational standpoint, and we’ve talked about this within the IAFC a lot, we’ve got to figure out how to get resources moving a little faster,” he said. “We’ve talked about a national mutual aid system, how we can identify where resources are and get ‘em on the road a little bit sooner so that we’re prepared to help [with] the operational [demands] of these kinds of fires.”
Having witnessed these unprecedented operational demands firsthand, Chief Waldo – like many of his peers – is now looking to the future with grim determination.
“The topic of wildfire has been on the forefront for the IAFC for many years, and we’ve been a huge part of the Wildfire Commission report that just came out,” he noted. “We’ve got to stay focused on this. We’ve got to continue to push on it because this won’t be the last event. History proves that to us.”
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