After years of wildland firefighters developing cancer, lung disease and other health issues while not being allowed to wear masks as they work, the US Forest Service will now allow these crews to wear masks. The policy turnaround comes as the Forest Service posted new guidance on Monday “acknowledging for the first time that masks can protect firefighters against harmful particles in wildfire smoke,” per The New York Times. Workers were barred from wearing masks for years, with the agency arguing that they were too cumbersome for the job. Officials from the Forest Service reported that the agency did not want to deal with potential expensive consequences of admitting the long-term dangers of smoke exposure. The agency has now stockpiled around 80,000 N95 masks… and is “encouraging firefighters to mask up.” …The new guidance follows a series of NY Times articles documenting a growing occupational health crisis among wildfire crews.