.Julie Cart

Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jon Heggie wasn’t expecting much to worry about when a late summer fire erupted north of Santa Cruz, home to California’s moist and cool “asbestos forests.” This place doesn’t burn, he thought, with just three notable fires there in 70 years...But that 2020 fire was anything but predictable.

Workers’ comp cases for PTSD are routinely denied, and many crews are fatigued from working weeks at a time with no time off