Mass DOGE Firings Threaten Oregon’s Wildfire Defenses and Weather Warnings

Hundreds of DOGE Federal firings in Oregon of workers employed at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS) will weaken wildfire monitoring and also affect the service of meteorologists who advise fire managers.

DOGE Federal Firings Effect On National Weather Service In Oregon

Despite the estimates of between 500 and 1,300 people- around 10% of the agency’s workforce being forecast, the exact number of federal firings is yet to be known.

At local Weather Service offices, meteorologists diligently issue daily forecasts as well as advisories, watches, and warnings.

These dedicated professionals, including Incident Meteorologists who are fire weather specialists, travel from the local offices in Pendleton, Medford, and Portland to large wildfires, providing meteorological expertise to fire managers 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year.

The Weather Service issues around 1.5 million forecasts and about 50,000 warnings and in addition, workersat NOAA and NWS staff the National Hurricane Center in Miami, track tropical storms, specifically severe thunderstorms and tornadoes which are closely monitored by teams of meteorologists and forecasters based at the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla.

For example, last week, the Portland office which the agency says costs each citizen about $4 a year and delivers a $74 return for every dollar, issued numerous Severe Thunderstorm Warnings and a Tornado Warning.