“Anxiety” and “uncertainty.” Those are the words you hear most often from U.S. workers and federal contractors facing the first day of a government shutdown triggered by the budget impasse in Washington.
Some crucial services — such as airport security screenings and health service for military veterans — promised to continue. But with the Trump administration promising mass job cuts, the future of other programs remained in doubt.
Most national parks are set to remain open, at least for now, with the exception of indoor facilities and those behind locked gates. The fate of the parks in the longer term remains unclear. In the 35-day shutdown of 2018-19, during President Trump’s first term, understaffed parks said they could not keep trash collected and toilets pumped. Parts of California’s most popular national parks — including Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Joshua Tree, Death Valley — had to be shut down.
Nobody knows what will happen this time, in part because it’s impossible to predict how long it will take for the Trump administration and Congress to agree on a formula to fund the government.
Among the biggest worries in California: whether programs to reduce fuel loads in the fire-prone state will be cut. I talked to the executive director of one Northern California nonprofit that helps manage prescribed burns to remove brush from fire-prone areas.
“We have been deemed in California to be in the midst of a wildfire crisis, according to the administration,” said the nonprofit chief, who asked not to be named, saying he was concerned his government grants might be targeted. “Well, the majority of work we do is related to fire reduction. And that work will suffer if we don’t get clarity. Time is of the essence.”
This is vital, especially since California lost more homes to wildfires in the last eight years than any time in California history.
He said that he has spoken to officials at the Bureau of Land Management and the Department of Forestry — regular partners in fuel reduction projects, such as brush burning — but the government workers said they don’t yet understand what work would continue during the shutdown.
The White House referred questions to the Department of Interior, which did not immediately respond.
The Northern California nonprofit has been preparing to conduct a prescribed burn sometime next week. The burns are carefully timed for days when ground cover is dry enough to burn, but not so dry that fire will spread uncontrollably.
“Right now we are in a prime six-week window in the north state for doing these burns. It’s go time,” the executive said. “Anytime you put an artificial barrier, like a shutdown … you can’t pay workers and crews will not show up. And then if our funding is cut and we have to lay off some of the workforce, it will be hard to muster the sort of militia we need to do this work.”
Trump famously began talking about forest management in his first term. “You know, the floors of the forest, very important,” he said, adding that, in Finland, “they spend a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things.”
While some mocked Trump’s statement, forest managers acknowledge the need for “treatment” of wildlands — including prescribed burns, mechanical brush clearance, deployment of goats to eat away overgrown hillsides.
”I think that this shutdown just undermines that goal,” said the nonprofit leader. “And it could be worse if there are sweeping firings and reductions in force. That will mean there is no one at the desk, doing the orderly business of trying to reduce this wildland threat.”
After initial publication of this story, the Department of Interior emailed a statement. It read, in part: “The Department of the Interior will keep critical services open and running for the benefit of the American people despite efforts by Congressional Democrats who are trying to close our parks, stop U.S. energy production, and prevent our first responders, like our law enforcement, from keeping our streets safe and our wildland firefighters from fighting wildfires.”
Today’s top stories
(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
The shutdown and California
- Major airports, mail service and Social Security payments will continue, but EPA enforcement and some veteran services face disruptions.
- Nearly 90% of EPA staff will be furloughed while air traffic controllers and TSA remain on duty during the shutdown.
A sex abuse settlement scandal
- A Times investigation found plaintiffs in a sex abuse settlement who claim they received cash to sue L.A. County.
- The lawsuits led to a record $4-billion settlement for the victims.
- Downtown LA Law Group, which represents some plaintiffs who said they were paid to sue, said the firm “categorically does not engage in, nor has it ever condoned, the exchange of money for client retention.”
The great carpool lane realignment
- A program that allowed solo drivers in clean-air vehicles to drive in the carpool lanes ended Wednesday.
- Experts say those drivers might just join other vehicles in the regular lanes or turn to mass transit to avoid the congestion
Melting at a glacial pace
- The glaciers in California’s Sierra Nevada are shrinking and expected to disappear this century.
- New research shows the glaciers have probably existed since the last Ice Age.
- When the last of the glaciers melt, scientists say, the mountains will be ice-free for the first time in millennia.
Trump’s $90 million payday
- YouTube became the latest media and tech company to settle one of President Trump’s lawsuits.
- Disney and Meta have also settled lawsuits with Trump. Here’s a rundown of the payouts.
What else is going on
Commentary and opinions
This morning’s must-reads
Other must-reads
For your downtime
Going out
Staying in
A question for you: What do other drivers do on the road that frustrates you?
We’re looking for your takes on L.A. driving etiquette. Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter.
And finally … from our archives
Fifty-eight years ago today, Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the first Black Supreme Court justice. This story ran on the front page of the Los Angeles Times the next day. Read our obituary of Marshall from 1993.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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