Wildland firefighters will maintain a 4-year-old salary increase under the GOP-led spending bill signed by President Donald Trump, but many people worry that the firing of mass federal workers will make the country more vulnerable to wildfires.
Home Secretary Doug Burgham on Wednesday believes Trump has secured an increase in wages for the post on social media site X. He said he is grateful to firefighters who embody the American spirit by putting their lives at risk to protect their neighbors, protecting their communities and maintaining their natural heritage.
Permanent pay increases will be brought about as Trump and Elon Musk’s government efficiency cuts by around 3,400 workers in the U.S. Forest Service, roughly 1,000 workers in the National Park Service and another 1,000 people in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Service.
Many of these workers were specially trained to keep the trail free from debris, oversee prescribed burns, thin the forest, and work with firefighters. They say personnel delivery threatens public safety, especially in the western part of the world where arider and hotter conditions associated with climate change have increased wildfire strength.
“What I’ve heard from my constituents who are actually fighting fires in Washington state is that Trump and Elon make the job of wild firefighters much more difficult and in much more risky. “It’s dishonest and candidly shamed for this administration to pretend otherwise.”
The federal government has rehired some employees under court orders after the dismissal was challenged.
Wildland firefighters began receiving temporary pay raises in 2021 as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law signed by then-President Joe Biden, according to the National Federation of Employees. Congress then extended pay raises in the short term.
Rep. Mike Simpson of R-Idaho oversaw forest spending as chair of the home’s internal and environmental budget subcommittee and worked to make salaries permanent.
“The permanent pay amendments for wild firefighters will enhance recruitment and retention while providing financial security to first responders who will protect our community,” Simpson said.
Randy Irwin, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, similarly celebrated the pay raise, saying the union had been fighting for it for years.
“The fight is rewarding now,” Irwin said. “Permanent pay corrections mean that we can focus on other important issues, such as recruitment and retention, housing, mental health benefits, rest and recovery, and the overall well-being of our country’s wild fire workforce.”
He warned that the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to cut firefighters and their support personnel would “cripple the workforce and make Americans safe.”
“Councils must not let these harmful plans be implemented,” Irwin said.
Washington’s Forester George Geisler leads the state’s wild fire service and has over 30 years of experience in wildfires. He said federal officials are not grateful for the role their workers play in the fire fight.
“I don’t think there’s any desire to reduce the number of firefighters in the Forest Service,” he said Wednesday. “But I don’t think there’s a clear understanding of how the inter-ministerial wild fire system is set up, how it works, and how people who don’t have ‘fire fighters’ are still the majority of the domestic response system. ”
Former NOAA administrator Rick Spinrad said the agency’s labor decline would also critically hamper wild firefighters.
Spinrad said NOAA and the National Weather Service are deploying to wildfires to provide on-site support to around 100 “incident meteorologists” or I-Mets.
“I know that some of these I-Mets are not in work so I know that their capabilities will be compromised,” Spinrad said at a recent press conference with several laid back NOAA workers.
Greg Bahund was fired from his job as a wilderness ranger and Wildland firefighter in Washington’s Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest last month.
Bafundo is among those who have been temporarily recalled to work at least, but the long-term future with the agency is unknown.
“I’ve always left myself between danger and fellow citizens, and now I feel like I’ve been put aside like some kind of parasite class or some kind of fraud,” he said at a press conference hosted by Murray last month. “These heartless and brave dismissals lead to loss of life and property.”
