As fire season winds down, firefighters employed by the federal government are facing what they say is another potential disaster: significant pay cuts that could trigger a mass exodus of workers. A temporary raise implemented by the Biden administration is scheduled to run out at the end of this year, and legislation that would permanently increase wildland firefighter salaries has stalled in Republican-controlled committees in Congress. Some now say the stability of the nation’s federal firefighting force hinges on this year’s election results.
The federal government employs wildland firefighters through five agencies, the largest by far being the U.S. Forest Service. That workforce is responsible for managing fires in national parks, national forests and on other federal lands, which cover nearly a third of the country. As climate change extends the fire season and increases wildfire severity, the difficult work of managing those blazes is only getting harder, all while people are living in fire-prone areas in increasing numbers. On top of that, wildland firefighters typically earn between $28,545 and $37,113 in annual base pay, depending on experience, according to a 2022 survey, forcing the vast majority to rely on hundreds of hours of overtime to make ends meet.
