Lodamun

[imperialpearl]

As far as trends go, Lodamun has, for the better half of five centuries, maintained an extremely stable wildfire season, with the vast majority of “wildfires” being contained to minor blazes in often easy-to-access areas. Yet, as climate change and drier conditions continue to plague the Lodamese interior, particularly within the Kregon Plateau, some are expressing concern as to the nation’s preparedness for potentially disastrous wildfires in the future. The Lodamese Meteorological Service notes that drought conditions in South-Western Barrington, as well as above-average temperatures throughout the Kregon Plateau and central to south-eastern Millford, were part of an evolving climatic trend sweeping through the nation. “Dryer conditions are usually of particular interest during the harvest season for their implications for agricultural yield; however, we’re looking at this as we move into the wildfire season, which should be a cause for concern,” Samuel West, a meteorologist working with the LMS, suggested. He noted that although the interior had seen reasonable amounts of rain in the previous year around the same time, precipitation stands at 15% less than it was previously. According to the LMS, “Although precipitation is averaging, when coupled with above-average temperatures and drought conditions in certain patches of the interior, this could compound an already stressed situation.” At a joint press conference alongside the Director of the Rural Fire Service, Secretary of the Interior Jane Ross declared that, having reviewed the data as presented by the LMS, the wildfire season would start earlier than expected. She noted that although historically, the Lodamese wildfire season around summer, early spring had brought near-unprecedented temperatures, which led many, including the LMS, to predict that the coming summer would be considerably hotter and thus the likelihood of wildfires would undoubtedly increase. Seeking not to cause a nationwide panic amidst the shift in schedule, Secretary Ross confirmed that the Lodamese Rural Fire Service would remain the national agency responsible for coordinating wildfires throughout the nation, especially those which grow/expand beyond the capabilities of local fire and rescue services.

Although the LRFS paints itself as supposedly ready to respond to potentially disastrous wildfires, some have raised the alarm on the agency’s unpreparedness. Although tremendous amounts of money had been poured into enhancing the capabilities of the wildfire teams of the LRFS, their lack of experience in containing major wildfires has caused some to call on the Department of the Interior to expand the number of exercises conducted by the respective crews. “Lodamun has never experienced major wildfires before, especially those which have the potential of becoming uncontrollable. I would doubt the capabilities of the rescue crews given their new, fancy equipment, but when they stand in the literal heat of the moment and realise the hopelessness of their lack of experience, it would be too late,” warned veteran fireman Sebastian Baxter. Baxter is the former Commissioner of the Harrington Fire Department, the largest fire and rescue agency in Lodamun, as well as the former General Secretary of the Rescue Services Union of Lodamun. Baxter has been a longtime proponent of better national preparedness for wildfires ever since the Baltusian wildfires, which followed a devastating terror attack in that nation’s political heartland. Deputy Director of the LRFS, Bradley Hawkins, stated that whilst he recognised Baxter’s well-intentioned criticisms, it was important to differentiate between fighting regular city fires and fighting wildland fires. “Whilst I recognise the constructive nature of Mr Baxter’s statements, it should be noted that there is a clear difference between what he believes we do here and what we actually do. These are not city or suburban fires where you could bring a lot of specialised equipment to bear; these are wildfires,” Hawkins responded. Hawkins noted that he was not interested in an argument with Baxter, whom he personally respected as both men served together at the National Academy, although Hawkins went on to specialise in wildfires and Baxter focused on “regular” city/suburban fires.