Wildfire season starts up again in Kentucky next month.

That means dozens more seasonal and emergency wildlife fighters will be on duty.

As our June LaFleur reports, one Kentucky wildfire fighter testified to state lawmakers today about the lack of benefits for such a dangerous job.

Our jobs require us to be part meteorologist, part typographer, part biologist.

Constantly reading the land, the weather, the fuel to predict how a fire will move.

We make real time risk assessments in life threatening conditions to guide strategy and to keep our crews safe.

These are not skills you can pick up overnight.

This wild firefighter says the work can be exhausting and dangerous, but the benefits don't compensate for those burdens.

We receive no health insurance, no paid sick leave, no vacation time, no retirement.

And for our work, we make just $12.60 an hour.

From coast to coast, wildfire fighters are speaking up about their lackluster compensation and protections.

The smoke they breathe in can cause cancer and respiratory issues.

Hearing this alarm this year, the federal government increased benefits for federal wildfire fighters and for the first time is giving them masks.

Now, entry level wildland firefighters will earn $20.93 an hour working for the federal government and best pay.

A significant step up from what many of us in Kentucky currently make.

Kentucky lawmakers heard this testimony today during a natural disaster task force.

I think it's worthy to note that disasters include fires.

Yes, and certainly there are prevention, mitigation, resilience, things that can be done from a forestry management standpoint.

Historically, forestry has not is is grossly underfunded.

And sometimes the first thing to be cut in budget cycles in my experience here.

Others presented to lawmakers today, the Disaster Readiness Center of West Kentucky and the company blue Sky, are operating a digital platform to streamline services for disaster survivors because after a disaster, survivors lose everything.

And the one thing that we want them to feel the power of is that they actually have some sort of say and some sort of control over something that's happened to them.

That could be the worst thing that's ever happened to them in their life.

They hope to expand the service statewide.

For Kentucky Edition, I'm John Leffler.

Thank you.

June.

The Whitesburg based Appalachian Citizens Law Center was there as well.

The group wants more stream gauges and other flood monitoring tools.

Also updated state guidance on logging, which has been linked to increased risk of landslides.