Forest Service to Seek Ethnic Diversity in Crews

The U.S. Forest Service has traditionally recruited most of its California wild-land firefighters near the scene of fires and national forests: in mountain communities nestled in the Sierra Nevada and other ranges.

As one result, it wound up with a firefighting force that is 80% white.

This year, the service is shifting its recruiting effort to more ethnically diverse areas in an attempt to broaden the makeup of its firefighting crews.