As fire seasons become more extreme, firefighters are organizing to make changes

The wildfire season is longer and more dangerous than ever. Through Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, frontline workers are fighting for better pay and working conditions.

After battling California’s deadliest wildfire, firefighter Ben McLane began to have second thoughts about his job. The November 2018 Camp Fire near Paradise killed 85 people and destroyed 18,000 homes. McLane was used to hiking steep terrain and digging endless firebreaks. He was used to seeing entire hillsides of pines and firs engulfed in flames. He wasn’t used to the scale of the destruction — or the feeling that his work was for nothing. Meanwhile, he rarely saw his family and couldn’t imagine ever being able to afford a home. Was fighting fires worth it?