The Forty five veterans are working in small crews
mostly around Lake Tahoe. It's part of unique pilot program called
the The Veteran Green Corp. Forest Service Under
Secretary Doug Crandall says the vets are ideal for the job.
CRANDALL: it can be very dangerous, you put people in the back country in a lot of cases. Fighting fires with shovels, we try and get ahead of fires to make fire breaks, to cut trees down, to try and get ahead of the fire.
The vets do more than just fight active fires. A lot of the work involves felling dead trees and clearing brush that could start fires. After the Veterans complete six months of training, they will have the opportunity to apply to be full time forest service employees.
CRANDALL: it can be very dangerous, you put people in the back country in a lot of cases. Fighting fires with shovels, we try and get ahead of fires to make fire breaks, to cut trees down, to try and get ahead of the fire.
The vets do more than just fight active fires. A lot of the work involves felling dead trees and clearing brush that could start fires. After the Veterans complete six months of training, they will have the opportunity to apply to be full time forest service employees.
