Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) announced today that the Government Accountability Office has agreed to assess the hiring and retention of federal firefighters at the five agencies responsible for wildland fire management.

The senators requested this review in an April 27 letter. In addition to Senators Feinstein and Sinema, the request to GAO was joined by Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).

“I applaud the GAO for agreeing to review the critical matter of wildland firefighter resources. Climate change is making fires in the West more deadly and destructive, and we need to do more to ensure we have the resources available to battle these fires,” Senator Feinstein said. “The federal government is responsible for managing millions of acres of lands in the Western United States, and ensuring we have enough firefighters and that they are compensated fairly will be an important part of planning for future wildfire seasons.”

In conducting its review, the senators urged GAO to:

• Identify barriers to recruitment and retention of federal firefighters at the wildland fire agencies.
• Assess the seasonal firefighter employment model used by wildland fire agencies, and make recommendations for transitioning to a full-time firefighting workforce.
• Review the current job series and pay scale of Forest Service and Interior Department wildland firefighters to ensure their pay is commensurate with state firefighting agencies and reflects their training requirements and the hazardous conditions they must endure.

In the last year Senators and Representatives have shown interest in wildland firefighters:

• January, 2021: Sought to raise the max-out limit on overtime pay for senior level federal employees.
• October, 2020: Called for creation of a wildland firefighter job series and an increase in firefighters’ pay.
• June, 2020: Requested pandemic-related PPE and COVID testing for firefighters.