DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources offers courses for firefighters to take to learn how to fight wildfires.
Ryan Schlater, a Fire Specialist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said that the risk of wildfires in Iowa is increasing.
“We are getting hotter and drier and it’s starting from the west side of the state. What I like to say is the western wildfire is moving east and whether it’s global warming or climate change or whatever it is, we’re definitely seeing, in the last 10 years, we’re seeing a big increase in Iowa wildfires and the severity of them,” Schlater said.
Firefighters who take courses with the DNR can be dispatched out of state to fight wildfires like on the west coast.
The DNR also offers abridged courses for rural volunteer fire departments.