Growing up in the mountains of northern New Mexico, Vidalia Vigil learned all about “roughing it” and hard work at an early age. The 24-year-old recalled going out for her own wood, learning how to use power tools in her early teens and camping regularly throughout her upbringing around Pecos. This background came in handy when, right out of high school, she became an on-call wildland firefighter in the Pecos/Las Vegas district with the Santa Fe National Forest.
- PUB DATE: 8/5/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Albuquerque Journal

Southwest Nampa has been in need of a fire station for eight years, according to the fire chief, and the mayor says it could be 2024 or later before funding is available. The city of over 100,000 people has five fire stations and, given the call volume, needs three more, Fire Chief Kirk Carpenter said.
- PUB DATE: 8/5/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Idaho Press

The Kern County Fire Department is losing firefighters to other agencies because of low pay, according to the Kern County Firefighters Association. A tweet sent out earlier this week announced that two firefighters had resigned to go to other fire departments, and that a total of 41 firefighters were lost for a similar reason since 2014.
- PUB DATE: 8/5/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KERO-TV ABC 23 Bakersfield

Nestled in the foothills of Washington's Cascade Mountains, the bustling Seattle suburb of Issaquah seems an unlikely candidate for anxiety over wildfires. The region, famous for its rainfall, has long escaped major burns even as global warming has driven an increase in the size and number of wildfires elsewhere in the American West.
- PUB DATE: 8/5/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KIRO-TV CBS 7 Seattle

Firefighters contained a blaze that scorched 1,150 acres of grass, sage and wheat stubble between Connell and Kahlotus. Crews from Franklin County fire districts 1 and 3 and Benton County fire districts 1 and 4 are putting out the remaining flames and reinforcing fire lines on the Sulphur Fire Saturday after getting control of the blaze by 6 p.
- PUB DATE: 8/5/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tri-City Herald