As wildfire season reaches its most intense moment, San Juan County Fire and Rescue is experiencing a volunteer firefighter shortage that is drastically affecting the department's ability to respond to emergencies and prevent the spread of wildfires in New Mexico.
Jordan Richards from the San Juan County Fire and Rescue Department, said, "We have 200 volunteers but 60 of those are really our core active members, the rest respond when they are available. If we could have all 200 active and responding all the time then we would be a lot better set up than what we are, ideally we would have 300 or 400 volunteers.”
It is being reported that the county is facing a shortage of about 100-200 volunteer firefighters. With the additional workforce, the department would be able to operate more efficiently and respond to calls more quickly.
The department is facing a significant challenge by having most of its workforce come from volunteer sources. Even though there are many people volunteering, it's hard to coordinate schedules in order to have coverage throughout all times of the day.
Without more volunteers, the department will have trouble responding to emergencies as quickly as they could, which will inevitably result in more property damage and could also mean more lives lost due to wildfires.