Wildfire Crews Can Finally Mask Up — Too Late For Lander Man With Damaged Lungs

The U.S. Forest Service this week lifted a decades-long ban on wildland firefighters wearing masks, announcing that it has stockpiled 80,000 N95 masks and is encouraging firefighters to wear them.

That’s a move in the right direction, said Darren Clifford, 42, of Lander, a former wildland firefighter who was forced into early retirement because of lung damage from smoke inhalation.

However, those disposable N95 masks might not cut it, he told Cowboy State Daily.

Sweat could make masks like the N95 “soggy” and render them ineffective, he said. Or they might get damaged or dirty from being crammed into pockets and packs.

Instead, he advocates for sturdier protective gear, such as the Barriaire Gold Particulate mask, with built-in filtration systems.

Those are pricey, going f