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• I cover the President’s visit to the California wildfires, then dive into the Fix Our Forests Act, which passed the House this week and will likely pass the Senate.

• Inside this Act is a provision to determine if the Forest Service should be moved to a Western state out of Washington D.C.; they have a 1-year timeline to decide.

• The Act also would create the Wildland Fire Management Casualty Assistance Program. This would cover travel and other expenses for a firefighter’s family if they are injured, ill, or deceased due to a line-of-duty incident.

• It also creates a system that tracks and provides specialized care for injured firefighters and provides short and long-term support with physical therapy and counselors.

• There is a provision to create and study the use of “water bombs”, massive cardboard boxes filled with water that can be used with non-wildfire aircraft such as a V-22 Ospresy and C-130s.

• There are also environmental exemptions for fire projects under 10,000 acres, reducing the chance for litigation for fire breaks and prescribed burns.

• Plus more.

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I speak with John Gould, one of the most respected voices in the wildfire industry. John’s career spans the wildfire world, including being a longtime Alaska Smokejumper, chair of the Federal Fire and Aviation Safety Team, head of Air Operations for the Bureau of Land Management, manager of the Alaska Fire Service, and CEO of 10 Tanker.

John and I discussed everything related to the wildfire industry, including retardant testing, contract issues, struggles with transparency in working with the Forest Service, and getting a seat at the table as an aviation company.

Changes need to be made to better support our firefighters on the ground and aviation assets in the air, and we discuss how this can be done in the current environment.

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I spoke with Orange County Fire Chief Brian Fennessy about the recent fires in California and the changes needed in the aftermath.

Chief Fennessy is the Chair of the Firescope Advisory Committee, which will meet next week to make recommendations to improve the current system and have a panel discussion on the 2025 California fires. We discuss the issues with the ordering system, aviation resources being off-contract for the Forest Service, the hydrants and reservoirs, politics in fire, and much more.

Interstingly, Forest Supervisors in California opposed the D.C. office's decision to release aviation resources in late December. The move ended up being the right one, even in the face of significant D.C. backlash.

This is one of the most open and honest conversations you will hear from a leader in the fire world in the wake of these fires.

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With the tragedy of the Palisades and Eaton Fires in California over the last week, I sat down with Senator Tim Sheehy to discuss what needs to be done to ensure that this tragedy never happens again and make certain our wildland firefighters are supported.

The Senator and I have discussed these issues for years, and due to these devastating fires, National attention is entirely focused on them.

We discuss fixing firefighter pay, long-term aviation contracts, changes that need to be made to the wildfire system, and how that can now be accomplished in Congress.

Senator Sheehy is the only Red Carded member of Congress as a firefighter and founded the internationally available wildfire aviation company Bridger Aerospace in Montana.

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The ATF has taken over as the lead investigator into the Palisades Fire and has been looking at the fire's origin. The best origin photo I’ve seen shows the fire starting off the Temescal Ridge Trail within the first 20 minutes of ignition.

Investigators are also looking at the potential of a holdover from the Lackman Fire, which started on New Year’s Eve in the same location.

I cover the details of this investigation, one being the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, saying the power to the infrastructure on top of Temescal Ridge has been shut off for 5 years.

I also discuss the cuts the Forest Service is making in Region 5 (California) to critical positions. I had a conversation with a California Forest Supervisor who was concerned these cuts would only make the jobs of firefighters on the ground harder.

Plus, a full update on the fires.

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In the last 24 hours, the LAFD Chief has commented that Los Angeles city officials have let the Department and city residents down. When further pressed, the chief confirmed that one major reservoir was empty due to construction and that her department was not notified before or during the initial attack of the California fires. After making the comments, the Chief was immediately called to the Mayor’s Office, prompting a press release from the LAFD PIO saying she was not being fired.

Crazy.

Also, last night, there were reports that an LAFD official had a resident show them footage of two individuals dumping gas and lighting it on fire near the Palisades fire's origin. During this morning’s briefing, the sheriff’s department asked the public to provide any footage they had of individuals starting the fire. The sheriff said, “We will hold the individual or group of people responsible for this fire.”

That is the furthest they’ve gone regarding the cause of the Palisades Fire since they started. Plus, a complete update of all the fires in the area.

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A lot of progress has been made across the California Fires, Palisades, Hurst, Eaton, and Kenneth. The hard work and labor must now be done by the crews to contain these fires.

Local Residents tackled and made a citizen arrest near the Kenneth Fire of an individual who was starting fires with a blowtorch. Fire Managers say a criminal investigation is now underway.

To prevent looting in the fire areas, a nighttime curfew has been implemented in parts of LA, and the National Guard has been brought in to protect critical infrastructure.

People are now discussing what needs to be done to stop these types of fires from happening again. It’s time to finally take action, make the necessary changes to firefighter pay and benefits, and change the system to be more streamlined and efficient.

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I give an update on the current situation with the southern California fires, the unbelievable level of destruction, and the lives lost. I also discuss the wild theories that have been incorporated into news reporting.

I address the hydrants running out of water, lack of resources, tactics being used, arson, power infrastructure, LAFD funding, and even the wild claims that the destruction is fake… Some of the theories are about as dumb as they come. However, some of the criticisms have merit and should be covered.

Southern California isn’t out of the woods yet, as Red Flag conditions are expected to continue through tomorrow.

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This morning, I give an update on the fires that started and burned through the night in Southern California. Multiple new starts have evacuated nearly 100,000 people, likely destroying hundreds of homes and businesses and tapping wildfire resources in the State.

People are understandably looking to place blame for these fires, but it is still incredibly early in these disaster situations. As of this morning, I cover the details we know and discuss the known issues ignored in Southern California for years that intensify these types of fires.

This will likely be some of the most devastating fires we have seen in Southern California in some time. There are already reports of looting, hydrants running out of water, civilians interfering with fire radio frequencies, and more.

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• After three years of attempts, the final Bill of this Congress strips the wildland firefighter permanent pay fix language. The Supplemental Pay is to continue until March 14th.

• A reset button has been hit, and many former players won’t be there the next time this is voted on.

• Massive changes are coming to the wildfire industry and agencies. Legislation was introduced to allow the president to appoint the Chief of the Forest Service directly. Something not seen in over 35 years. A few names have been mentioned; one is a solid choice.

• The Department of Government Effecnacy (DOGE) has a willing partner in Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana. In an OpEd. Senator Sheehy says the bureaucratic red tape is the problem with the wildfire industry, not the boots on the ground.

• Senator Sheehy calls for fundamental changes to the wildfire agencies and industry, including a national wildfire suppression standard, and says an overhaul of the bureaucratic system is perfect for DOGE.

• Wildfire policy is about to change hands. Wildfire AI systems, Drones, autonomous platforms, detection systems, and private fire contracts will likely see a huge boom.

• A healthy rant…

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Today, I welcome Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell, who heads the U.S. Fire Administration.

Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell was appointed by President Joseph Biden as the U.S. fire administrator on Oct. 25, 2021. Prior to her appointment, Lori served nearly 3 years as the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the International Public Safety Data Institute, which she founded after retiring from a 26-year tenure as a senior executive in the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF).

Today, we discuss the autonomous helicopters being developed for wildfire, some of which we may see in California as early as next year, and the new wildfire AI systems being installed for detection. We also discuss the difficulties with the post-fire recovery that took place after the Lahaina Fire in Hawaii.

We dive into the PFAS studies being conducted by the U.S. Fire Administration and other agencies with concerns about firefighter cancer rates at all-time highs. They are working to find new gear and retardants for firefighters that don’t contain these chemicals.

A wide-ranging and fascinating conversation.

THE HOTSHOT WAKE UP — Thank you to all of our paid subscribers. Your support allows us to donate generously to firefighter charities and supports all of our content. You also receive all of our article archives, more podcast episodes, Monday morning workouts, and also entered into our giveaways, plus more.