A challenging fire season this year could be even harder with a firefighter shortage and a delayed pay raise. Oregon Senator Ron Wyden visited Southern Oregon Tuesday to get an update on the fire season this year from state fire officials. Wyden has been pressuring the Biden administration to speed up a promised pay increase for wildland firefighters. Congress approved $600 million in the bipartisan infrastructure law to raise firefighter salaries by up to $20,000 more per year, but implementing that raise is overdue by more than a month. Wyden says the continued wildland firefighter shortage could have serious consequences this fire season. "What happens if everybody is gonna need firefighters and doesn’t have somebody to borrow from?" he asks. During his meeting with state officials, Wyden says he learned the combination of drought conditions and late rainfall this year means there’s more fuel to burn. That could lead to more wildfires across the region.