Los Diablos, a Mexican wildland firefighting crew that has helped protect Big Bend National Park and communities across the United States for 36 years, is no longer authorized to cross the Rio Grande to fight fires in the United States.
The crew, made up of firefighters from Boquillas del Carmen and other communities just across the river from Big Bend, has worked with the National Park Service since 1990.
The partnership developed out of a practical problem facing Big Bend. The national park is extraordinarily remote, and additional federal and state firefighting resources can take significant time to reach the region. Meanwhile, trained firefighters live only a short distance away on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande.
The National Park Service trained Los Diablos firefighters, maintained their wildland firefighting qualifications and worked with federal immigration and border authorities to allow crew members to enter the United States when they were needed.
The arrangement continued even after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks led to the closure of the Boquillas border crossing. Special authorization allowed Los Diablos to continue crossing the border for firefighting assignments.
That authorization has now ended.
The change comes as reductions in federal staffing and resources have also affected Big Bend National Park’s fire program, leaving the remote park without a crew that has served as an important firefighting resource for more than three decades.
Los Diablos has worked far beyond Big Bend.
The National Park Service says the crew has responded to wildfires in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, California, Oregon and Washington. Crew members have also assisted with disaster responses following major hurricanes.
In 2022, Los Diablos traveled farther into Texas to assist the Texas A&M Forest Service as wildfires burned near Palo Pinto, Killeen and Glen Rose. The crew also participated in Hurricane Ian disaster response that year.
Los Diablos has repeatedly helped protect Big Bend itself.
In April 2022, a wildfire started in the South Rim area of the Chisos Mountains. Ten Los Diablos firefighters joined park rangers in attacking the fire the following morning and helped contain it at about 30 acres.
The crew also helped during the 2019 Castolon Fire, working alongside park personnel and the Texas A&M Forest Service as firefighters protected Cottonwood Campground, employee housing, historic structures and critical infrastructure.
The loss of the program has consequences on both sides of the Rio Grande.
The remaining crew of slightly more than 20 firefighters had been earning about $6,000 per firefighter annually, depending on the fire season. Collectively, that represents roughly $120,000 a year in firefighting wages that had been flowing into tiny and isolated communities where well-paying employment opportunities are scarce.
The National Park Service has previously noted the importance of the employment opportunity to the firefighters and their families. Los Diablos has included brothers, fathers, sons, cousins and other relatives over its decades of operation.
The suspension of the program therefore leaves Big Bend without a nearby and experienced firefighting resource while simultaneously eliminating an important source of income for families in neighboring Mexican communities.
It also comes as Boquillas del Carmen faces broader challenges tied to changes affecting cross-border activity with Big Bend National Park. Tourism from the park has long been an important part of the village’s economy.
For 36 years, Los Diablos represented a practical partnership between neighboring communities separated by an international boundary.
The United States trained these firefighters. They were vetted and qualified to fight American wildfires. When Texas needed help, they came. When states across the West needed help, they came. When Big Bend burned, they crossed the river and helped protect the park.
Now they cannot.
Local Realtor Kate Keenan has started a Change.org petition calling for the federal government to restore the authorization that allowed Los Diablos to enter the United States and resume firefighting work.
Sign the petition:
https://www.change.org/SaveLosDiablos
