Mid-career federal firefighters currently earn roughly half the pay of third-year firefighters employed by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, according to analysis from Grassroots Wildland Firefighters. In addition to facing competition from retail employers, federal agencies also compete with state and local departments that can pay more, offer more full-time positions and better benefits. ItвЂ™s just a tight labor market now,вЂќ Golden, the former firefighter, said. вЂњYou can go to a Whole Foods and start off at $16 an hour with $1,000 signing bonus. However, they warn that without permanent increases, some of the nationвЂ™s most skilled firefighters - including hotshots, smokejumpers and helitack crews - may go work elsewhere. Members of the advocacy group Grassroots Wildland Firefighters believe raises were long overdue. вЂњWhat it comes down to is weвЂ™ve got more big fires out there and incident management teams with needs to try and corral them than we have folks available,вЂќ said Grant Beebe, a former smokejumper and the Bureau of Land ManagementвЂ™s assistant director for fire and aviation. Ken Schmid, operations specialist at the National Interagency Fire Center, said вЂњunable to fillвЂќ orders reflect staffing needs but also may depend on geography or time of year, particularly in months when agencies dedicate staff to training or other high priority work. And last year, 1,858 crew mobilization orders couldnвЂ™t be filled. In 2020, there were 339 crew mobilization orders that couldnвЂ™t be filled. Though officials say itвЂ™s an imperfect metric, the number of unfilled staffing requests on large wildfires - or вЂњunable to fill orders,вЂќ indicates growing problems: In 2019, there were 92 times where the National Interagency Fire Center couldnвЂ™t mobilize crews to wildfires upon request. вЂњI will do everything in my power, including working with Congress to secure long-term funding, to make sure these heroes keep earning the paychecks - and dignity - they deserve,вЂќ he said in a statement. West hotter, drier and more prone to wildfires. And it implements provisions of last yearвЂ™s infrastructure bill designed to help recruit and retain firefighters, including $600 million in one-time funding to raise pay.Д«iden said funding for long-term pay raises remained a priority as climate change makes the U.S. The move follows an executive order President Joe Biden signed last year to raise federal firefighter minimum wage to $15 an hour.

The Biden administration announced Tuesday that infrastructure bill funds would go to backpay and giving all federal firefighters a raise for two years - either a 50% bump from their base salary or $20,000, whichever is less.

For years, firefighters and their advocates have decried stagnant pay and increased costs of living, arguing both are making recruitment difficult and attrition inevitable. and fierce competition for workers is exacerbating challenges facing the land management agencies that employ firefighters. Wildfire season is raging throughout the western U.S. вЂњBut it still falls woefully short of the pay in municipal departments and other state agencies.вЂќ вЂњItвЂ™s an effort and an attempt to try to keep people at their jobs,вЂќ Jonathon Golden, a former federal firefighter from Park City, Utah, said of the move to raise federal firefighter pay. SALT LAKE CITY - Firefighter groups are applauding the Biden administrationвЂ™s steps to raise pay but warn that the temporary wage hikes wonвЂ™t be enough to combat staffing problems, as federal agencies compete with local fire departments and big box stores in a tight labor market. Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu

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