STEPHANIE SY (voice-over): Alex Robertson is another former Hot Shot. He still works for the Forest Service, but says the life of a wildland firefighter no longer fits his lifestyle. ALEX ...

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Ben Elkind, a wildland firefighter based in Washington state who has traveled the country fighting fires for 17 years, about what it's like at the frontlines of wildfires.

The Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act was ... which do not even have a small percentage of the qualifications of our Hot Shot crews, smoke jumpers, or any of our special operations ...

We've had a number of fatalities. Alex Robertson is another former Hot Shot. He still works for the Forest Service, but says the life of a wildland firefighter no longer fits his lifestyle.

Ben Elkind is a wildland firefighter based in Washington state ... ELKIND: And then, when I was a hot shot, you know, we'd travel all over - Southern California, New Mexico, Alaska, all the ...