I used to work in wild land firefighting as contractor for the Forest Service. From how my coworkers understood it, everyone got paid more fighting fires than preventing them, and the national budget reflects that [sources needed]. Not only firefighters but also all the contractors, air tanker and helicopter companies, and the retardant manufacturer, Monsanto, are paid well. It’s very easy for me to imagine such interests lobbying in congress to direct more and more funds toward fire fighting rather than prevention efforts.