RIPON, Calif. — The people responsible for fighting fires in nearly half of all land in California could soon see their pay cut by up to $20,000 if Congress does not act.
U.S. Forest Service wildland firefighters battle flames in some of California’s most remote areas.
The 2021 Tamarack Fire started with a lightning strike on federal land. U.S. Forest Service wildland firefighters like Jacob Kennedy respond to these fires in the rugged terrain of California’s federally-owned land.
“It's a great job, definitely enjoy what I've been able to do with the agency,” Kennedy said. “I'm going to stick around because I love this agency.”
He spoke with ABC10 in his role as a steward with the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), the union that represents U.S. Forest Service Firefighters. He gathered with other NFFE representatives to speak with ABC10 in Ripon, standing alongside federal land.
Kennedy is seeing more and more highly skilled, well-trained federal firefighters jump ship for agencies with better pay, like Cal Fire.
“When we look at our pay and compensation and working conditions, expectations, it's hard to really go home and look your family in the eye, knowing you're not even able to really, truly provide for them,” Kennedy said.
He has been with the U.S. Forest Service for nearly 15 years and makes just over $20 an hour.
“With this situation, we're kind of finding people are at their breaking point,” he said.
Two years ago, President Biden approved a two-year retention bonus for federal firefighters. Even with that, other agencies are offering more.
The base pay at Cal Fire for an entry-level seasonal firefighter is $5,496 per month, not including overtime and benefits, a Cal Fire spokesperson said.
An entry-level U.S. Forest Service wildland firefighter in Los Angeles, by comparison, makes 21% less - $4,344 per month base rate – and that’s with the temporary bonus, an NFFE spokesperson said.
But that pay increase is set to expire at the end of September, meaning federal firefighters could lose up to $20,000 per year, starting Oct. 1. That is stoking fears of a mass exodus from the Forest Service.
“These folks aren't just courageous; the job they do is critically important,” said Democratic Representative Josh Harder, of California’s Ninth Congressional District.
He is pushing a bipartisan bill that would make the temporary pay increase permanent. It's called the Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act of 2023.
“The biggest argument that I hear is that somehow cutting firefighter salaries is going to save money. That makes absolutely no sense,” Harder said. “We're spending tens of billions of dollars a year on these wildfires. The best thing that we can do is make sure that we have enough folks that can do the job, so we can prevent these fires from going out of control in the first place.”
The bill would not increase firefighters’ current pay; it would simply make the temporary increase that’s already in place permanent.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates this bill would result in making this temporary pay raise permanent for more than 17,000 federal firefighters nationwide.
In a recent news release, the U.S. Forest Service said, “We are optimistic that Congress will send legislation regarding a permanent wildland firefighter pay fix to the president’s desk. Further, we remain committed to doing everything we can to ensure all our wildland firefighters are rewarded for the dangerous, grueling work they do to protect communities, infrastructure and natural resources.”
Congress returns from recess on Tuesday, after Labor Day weekend, and will resume considering this bill then.
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