Wildland Firefighter Pay Bump Set To Expire Next Month

Four months ago, more than 40 wildland firefighters left their posts in the San Bernardino National Forest, and they could do so again next month. A temporary increase in their pay is set to expire October 3. That’s unless Congress can increase their pay with the passing of the Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act.

The National Federation of Federal Employees represents the wildland firefighters. They say if their pay increases go away, as many as half of the national force are prepared to walk off the job.

Max Alonzo is with the union and calls the wildland firefighters a “forgotten first responder workforce.”

Alonzo says the force began their work 40 years ago doing timber work, fuel management on top of fighting fires for one month of the year. Now, he says it’s a full time job due to climate change, high temperatures and dry conditions. Alonzo says crews can battle fires for eight to ten months of the year all while inhaling carcinogens and sleeping in ash.

In 2021, lawmakers agreed to temporarily increase their pay in response to the growing wildfire crisis in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. That agreement ends soon. The Wildland Firefighter Pay Protection Act has bipartisan support, but that approval vote is at risk because of a looming government shutdown.

And California could be hit the hardest if the mass exodus happens, Alonzo says.

“Being a wildland firefighter in Southern California is extremely difficult,” he said. “Right now, with the bipartisan infrastructure package, it is so hard for these men and women to stay working, even with this extra money, they're leaving in droves already.”

On average, Alonzo says, wildland firefighters make around $20 an hour in California, that number is up to $25 with the temporary pay increase.

“At this point in California, I don't know how anybody is supposed to support a family in that,” he said.

Possible impact in California 

Wildland firefighters protect national forests, national parks, and lands owned by the Bureau of Land Management. Their coverage makes up about 47% of California’s land.

Alonzo says that means CalFire and other agencies who battle wildfires will lose badly needed resources.

“We're going to see a catastrophic loss of our natural resources, of towns, we're going to see communities burn, we're going to see a lot of lives lost,” he said, “And it is because Congress is not getting the job done.”

Jaelith Hall-Rivera, deputy chief for the State, Private, and Tribal Forestry called the problem a national security concern.

“We're going to have many more communities that are at risk and could be lost to wildfires, not to mention our natural resources, our forests, and our water supplies,” she said.

With Santa Ana wind season almost upon us, Hall-Rivera called it a volatile time for the state. She said communities could be at a higher risk of damage if a fire breaks without wildland firefighters on the frontlines.

“This problem isn't going away, right, when we look at the climate crisis in this country, we're just going to be dealing with fires all year long,” she said. “We need to rise to that challenge and make sure that we can recruit and retain the highest quality workforce to help us combat that climate crisis and our wildfire crisis and that means we need to pay them what they deserve.”

California Senator Alex Padilla joined a bipartisan group of senators in urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to avoid the mass exodus and pass the act.

“Due to the dangers that wildfires pose to our forests and communities, a lack of action to ensure the fair treatment of our Federal wildland firefighting workforce would jeopardize national security,” the senators wrote.