Some firefighters say $15 an hour is still too low. Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, an advocacy group representing federal firefighters, said the moves were a good first step but they want lawmakers to make long-term fixes.
CPR News spoke to a half-dozen U.S. Forest Service employees like Ives who have helped fight some of the country’s largest, most dangerous fires.
They say low pay and other labor issues have led to the staffing shortages in Colorado and other wildfire-prone states like California, Oregon and Washington. A search on USA Jobs, the federal government’s primary job site, regularly shows about 150 openings for forestry and range technicians across the country.
The shortage means firefighters are exhausted, and their mental health is suffering.
Ives said the gaps have to be filled by existing forestry workers who are feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. The extra strain takes a toll on their mental health and personal lives.
“Not being able to take time off unless it’s a funeral or a wedding and just having that every year just gets a little more and more tiring and taxing on your psyche,” he said.
Many local and state fire departments have mental health programs designed to address stressors specific to a career in firefighting. The Forest Service doesn’t, said Ben Elkind, a smokejumper stationed in Redmond, Ore.
“You have real trauma and they’re not addressing that in any meaningful way,” he said.
Forest Service officials declined an interview request. In a written statement, a spokesperson said the service maintains a “robust and highly capable workforce,” but acknowledged that uncompetitive federal wages have led to high turnover and low recruitment.
Joe Wertz/CPR News
Firefighters say the low pay is worsened by high housing costs in fire-prone areas where they’re often stationed.
That includes tourist spots and resort towns near national forests with million-dollar homes.
“I’d say maybe a quarter of our crew are living out of the backs of their trucks or camping out,” Ives said.
Ben McClane, who leads a wildfire crew based in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in southwest Washington, said firefighters who aren’t camping or living out of their vehicles often find housing in other residents’ basements.
“It's almost like you're hoping for charity from the local community,” McClane said.
All of the firefighters CPR News spoke to said similar things. Most had spent time living in their cars or trucks. One woman working for the U.S. Forest Service in southwestern Colorado, who didn’t want to use her name out of fear it would upset her supervisors, said she lives in an insulated shed because it’s the only shelter she can afford.
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As Wildfires Get Worse, So Are Firefighter Shortages. Climate Change And Low Pay Aren't Helping - Colorado Public Radio
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