More than 14,800 of the federal government’s wildland firefighters will see a raise, to $15 an hour, in their paychecks next week, said the Interior and Agriculture departments on Tuesday. The additional pay will cost nearly $32 million.
“By improving pay, we will not only support our wildland firefighters in a challenging year but also improve our ability to hire and retain top talent,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. Three-quarters of federal firefighters will be affected — about 3,500 of the 5,000 firefighters working for Interior agencies and 11,300 of the 14,500 firefighters employed by the USDA.
With the increases, all of the 19,500 federal firefighters battling wildfires will earn at least $15 an hour. The increase will be backdated to June 30. In addition, temporary firefighters on the frontlines will receive a $1,300 award while permanent frontline firefighters up to the GS-9 pay grade will receive an award equal to 10 percent of six months of their base pay, said the departments.
The National Interagency Fire Center said that 4.1 million acres have burned in wildfires so far this year, the largest total in three years for mid-August. The 10-year average for mid-August is 4.8 million acres. Nine large new fires, in Montana, Washington State, California, and Idaho, were reported at the start of this week, the fire center said on Tuesday.