News and opinion about wildland fire
Laura Paskus, a reporter and producer for PBS of New Mexico, interviewed three wildland firefighters for an episode of Our Land: New Mexico’s Environmental Past, Present, and Future. They covered some of the pressing issues faced by wildland firefighters, including health care, benefits, extensive travel, and pay.
Seen in the video are Marcus Cornwell, federal wildland firefighter; Kelly Martin, president of Grassroots Wildland Firefighters; and Jonathon Golden, former wildland firefighter.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized13 Comments on Many federal firefighters to receive one-time monetary awards In recognition of their inadequate pay
It has become widely known in the last eight months that federal wildland firefighters are embarrassingly underpaid. Numerous articles in national publications (and Wildfire Today) have been pointing this out. If the Senate version of S.2377 – Energy Infrastructure Act also passes the House, it will be a major step forward to fix this. But until then, the five federal land management agencies that underpay firefighters are going to provide pay awards to fire personnel up to the GS-9 level ranging from $1,300 to 10% of six months of their base pay. It’s not huge, but I’m sure they will take it.
A joint press release from the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Department of Agriculture (Forest Service) gave a few details:
The pay increase will go into effect immediately, and wildland firefighters will receive a minimum of $15 an hour with a backpay date of June 30, 2021. To ensure the pay increase happens immediately, the Departments will provide pay awards to all frontline firefighters that earn less than $15 an hour to ensure their pay will meet that minimum. In addition, all temporary frontline firefighters will receive a $1,300 award and all permanent frontline firefighters up to GS-9 will receive an award equal to 10% of six months of their base pay.
Here is the way it was described in a memo sent by the US Forest Service’s Northeast Region office:
…It is important to note that the incentive awards firefighters in the categories below will receive this year are one small, but immediate step to achieve fair compensation. It is just the first step to acknowledging our firefighters. We know there is more that needs to be done longer-term around pay, benefits, title, series and mental health and well-being. The Agency is not delaying on these other important steps, but they take more time and more help from other parts of the Federal government.
In the meantime, incentive awards will be coming in the following ways:
—Temporary (1039) Seasonal Fire Employees GS-9 and below, and WG-8 and below– Temporary (1039), primary/secondary-covered positions for wildland firefighting, GS-9 and below and WG-8 and below, will receive an Achievement cash award of $1300 (resulting in an after tax amount of $1000).
—Permanent Full-Time and Permanent Seasonal Fire Employees GS-9 and below, and WG-8 and below– Permanent full-time and permanent seasonal, primary/secondary-covered positions for wildland firefighting, GS-9 and below and WG-8 and below, will receive an Achievement cash award equivalent to 10% of your base salary for 1040 hours (based on step 5 of your grade and the locality pay for the “rest of the United States”).
—All GS-3 employees earning a basic rate of less than $15 per hour– Permanent and seasonal GS-3 employees who earn a basic rate of pay of less than $15 per hour will receive additional compensation in their Achievement cash awards equal or more to the difference between their current rate and $15 per hour for a tour of 1040 hours, regardless of actual tour. This has been calculated to be an additional $1,612.
In the DOI and the FS the pay increases and awards will appear in firefighter paychecks around August 23 or 24, 2021.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Ben and Kelly.
Many of the vacancies are for senior firefighters on engine crews
An article by Pew Charitable Trusts’ Stateline section combined their data with information from the Associated Press to present a bleak picture of hiring and retention among wildland firefighters in the Forest Service’s California Region.
Below are excerpts from the article published July 14, 2021:
The Forest Service’s California region had filled 3,820 of 4,620 planned permanent and temporary positions as of early July, agency spokesperson Regina Corbin wrote in an email to Stateline.
Thirty-one of California’s 44 hotshot crews are fully staffed, Corbin said.
Almost two-thirds of vacancies at the end of spring hiring were for senior firefighters on engine crews, the data reviewed by Stateline shows.
The agency sought to fill 781 vacant permanent positions in California during spring hiring this year, according to the data. But it ended the hiring period with 725 vacancies. That’s a net gain of just 56 employees.
In June 2015 the region’s leaders expected 96% of engines to be fully staffed, for instance. In June 2020, the share was 59%.
In a different article published the same day at Reuters, still another disturbing fact came to light about wildland firefighter vacancies:
20% of the federal government’s full time firefighting positions are currently vacant, according to Kelly Martin, president of the advocacy group Grassroots Wildland Firefighters.
This large number of vacancies, including hundreds of senior positions, can severely degrade the effectiveness of the Federal government’s ability to suppress wildland fires, which is a Homeland Security issue.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Wildfire52 Comments on Do we have the luxury this year of not fully suppressing wildfires? Allowing a fire to burn for months ties up valuable firefighting resources
Opinion
The 15,323-acre Dixie Fire just east of Dixie, Idaho is not being completely suppressed by the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest. A Type 1 Incident Management Team and over 500 personnel will be tied up for an extended amount of time on that incident with their time spent as follows — 15% monitoring, 30% confining, 35% point protecting, and 20% suppressing the fire. Resources assigned include 8 hand crews, 16 fire engines, and 4 helicopters for a total of 522 personnel. The same team is managing the nearby 898-acre Jumbo Fire. (map)
Other fires in the Northern Rockies Geographic Area that are less than full suppression on July 12, 2021 include:
The forecast for wildland fire potential issued July 1 by the National Interagency Fire Center predicts that California and virtually the entire northwest one-quarter of the United States will have above normal fire potential in July and August. So far that is proving to be true.
It is mid-July, the traditional time for the beginning of the busiest time of the Western fire season. The nation is at Preparedness Level 4, Level 5 is the highest, and resources are already being rationed among 50 large uncontained wildfires. More than 12,000 fire personnel are actively suppressing most of them. Many requests by Incident Commanders for additional personnel and other resources are being UTF’ed, Unable to Fill.
Part of the problem is that the U.S. Forest Service and some of the other Federal land management agencies have hundreds of vacant firefighting positions due to difficulties in hiring and retaining firefighters, who are labeled “Forestry Technicians”. This can be attributed to ridiculously low pay, very frequent travel, miserable working conditions, sexual harassment, a crippled hiring process, and poor benefits.
The Snake River Complex and the Dry Gulch Fire not far away in Idaho and Washington have a combined 109,457 acres and no helicopters. Do we have the luxury of hoarding a Type 1 IMT, over 500 personnel, and 4 helicopters while the U.S. Forest Service babysits a fire all summer? How are they going to explain their decisions to the downwind residents who might be exposed to smoke for months?
As a member of an interagency incident management team that specialized in less than full suppression wildfires, I learned that it is extremely difficult to allow a wildfire to successfully burn for weeks or months with little or no suppression. It requires highly skilled and long-experienced firefighters in key positions to make it work. Another ingredient that is necessary, which can’t be entered on a Resource Request, is luck. All it takes is one or two days of very strong winds and you can find yourself in a nightmare scenario. A less than full suppression fire which goes on for months will probably encounter a wind event. After the fire quadruples in size, changing the strategy to suppression is not a situation an Agency Administrator wants to find themselves in.
Selecting this strategy at the beginning of the fire season is, to put it bluntly in clear text, stupid. Especially when the fuels are extremely dry in early July and the summer looks like it could be full of fire. It would make more sense a month before the average date of a Season Ending Event brought on by heavy rain or snow.
The National and Regional Multi-Agency Coordinating Groups need to be proactive in moving and assigning fire suppression resources where they can be most effective. They can also make use of a rarely used tool, Area Command Teams. The national and regional fire staff of the agencies also need to inject some common sense into what we are seeing at the beginning of this summer. If they do not have enough funding to support their fire organizations and provide homeland security at the levels needed in this decade, they need to have the COURAGE to speak truth to power. Congress needs to take action.
While they can be constructive, there have been enough strongly worded letters, committee hearings, and discussions about legislation. It’s time to sh*t or get off the pot.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized16 Comments on Federal firefighters to receive retention pay this year The Administration to work with Congress on longer-term improvements in pay, benefits, and work-life reforms
The White House released a statement today in which several improvements are outlined to improve wildfire preparedness and pay for federal wildland firefighters.
Some are short-term, such as retention pay which may only be in effect this year, but the time frame is not clear. Permanent firefighters working on the front lines up to a GS-9 level will receive up to a 10 percent retention incentive and temporary workers who commit to continue this season would receive a $1,000 Spot/Star Award this year.
The statement also commits the Administration to work with Congress on longer-term improvements in pay, benefits, and work-life reforms.
Many of the initiatives outlined in the statement could, if followed up on, result in significant improvements for Federal firefighters. This is a great step in the right direction. Most of it, the long-term issues anyway, can’t happen unless Congress can be persuaded to assist in this effort to enhance our homeland security.
The document also says, “Increase aviation capacity to support immediate response”. Unfortunately it uses the often repeated number of “up to 36” when describing the air tanker fleet. That is misleading, at best. It implies that they are sitting on a ramp ready to attack wildfires. And “up to” could mean anywhere from zero to 36. Give us an actual, accurate number.
There are 18 large air tankers on exclusive use contracts. This year, temporarily, there will be an additional 8 hired on a shorter term “surge” basis. Others may or may not be available on a more expensive Call When Needed basis, but without any guarantee that they are airworthy and have mechanics and flight crews ready to respond to a fire.
On March 23 Fire Aviation called for a large increase in the numbers of aviation resources:
Congress needs to appropriate enough funding to have 40 large air tankers on exclusive use contracts.
Several years ago the number of the largest helicopters on Exclusive Use contracts, Type 1, were cut from 34 to 28. This number needs to be increased to 50.
Below is the entire statement from the White House.
In addition to the statement, the White House released the video below about wildfire preparedness. It begins at 35:00. He mentioned the speech he delivered in 2013 at the memorial service for the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots who were killed on a fire. This is extraordinary — the President hosting a 40-minute public event devoted to wildland fire.
The National Interagency Fire Center forecast predicts above normal fire potential for much of the West, in large part driven by severe drought conditions that are impacting nearly ninety percent of the region. Since 2015, the United States has experienced, on average, roughly 100 more large wildfires every year than the year before – and this wildfire season is already outpacing last season in terms of the number of large fires to date. Climate change is driving the devastating intersection of extreme heat, drought, and wildland fire danger across the United States. Decades of shifting development patterns, land and fire management decisions, and climate change have resulted in wildfires that move with a speed and intensity previously unseen. This has created conditions in which wildfires overwhelm response capabilities, resulting in billions of dollars in economic losses, damage to natural resources, devastation to communities, and the tragic loss of human life.
In preparation for this wildfire season, the Biden Administration has convened a series of meetings on wildfire preparedness and prevention efforts to determine what more can be done to prepare for and prevent wildfires. President Biden met last week with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and his White House Homeland preparedness team to discuss ongoing efforts to prevent, prepare for and respond to extreme weather events and to underscore the importance of prompt delivery of support to communities in need.
Today, President Biden and Vice President Harris will meet with Governors from Western states, Cabinet officials and private sector partners to discuss specific actions the public and private sector are each taking to strengthen prevention, preparedness, mitigation, and response efforts – and to protect communities across our country from wildfires and their devastating impacts. During today’s meeting, the President will direct a number of actions, in close coordination with State and local governments and the private sector, to ensure the Federal Government can most effectively protect public safety and deliver assistance to our people in times of urgent need.
The President will also highlight the need to invest in wildfire prevention and risk mitigation efforts, including the nearly $50 billion in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework.
The Biden-Harris Administration Is Taking Action to Respond to Wildfires this Year:
Building a More Responsive and Resilient Wildland Firefighting Workforce
Bolster firefighter pay. Firefighters must be fairly paid for the grueling work they are willing to take on. From supporting COVID-19 efforts to fighting wildfires, our Federal wildland firefighters have been on nearly nonstop deployments since January 2020. That is why today we are announcing that we are fulfilling the President’s commitment that firefighters will not make less than $15 an hour this year. In addition, permanent firefighters working on the front lines paid at up to a GS-9 level will receive up to a 10 percent retention incentive and temporary workers who commit to continue this season would receive a $1000 Spot/Star Award this year. These are short-term solutions to support our Federal wildland firefighters, especially due to the multiple impacts of COVID and climate change this year. The Administration will work with Congress on longer-term much needed compensation, benefit, and work-life balance reforms for Federal wildland firefighters.
Extend hiring of temporary firefighters to ensure effective response throughout this year’s fire season. To mitigate concerns about Federal firefighter capacity this year, today we are announcing that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has approved an exemption to extend seasonal Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Interior (DOI) wildland fire employees to work additional hours beyond their term. Because of climate change, wildland firefighting is no longer a seasonal endeavor. Fires are burning later into the season and temporary employees often reach their limited hours earlier in the year. This week, OPM also approved an extension of the Forest Service’s (USFS) direct hire authority for wildland firefighters and support personnel. These proactive personnel management actions will help sustain the Nation’s vital Federal wildland firefighting capacity. We also recognize the need for a sustainable long-term staffing approach into the future that offers more permanent, stable employment.
Continue transition to a more permanent firefighting workforce. With fire seasons turning into fire years, it is imperative to have a year-round workforce that is available to respond at any time, that is supported and equitably compensated, and is available to undertake preventive actions like hazardous fuels management treatments during periods of low fire activity. DOI has committed to hiring 210 new employees and converting 575 employees from career seasonal to full-time employees during this fiscal year. Additionally, DOI is providing funding for 42 new tribal positions and the conversion of 153 tribal positions from career seasonal to full-time employees to support wildfire response. USFS will continue to prioritize expanding its permanent wildland firefighting workforce.
Improving Wildfire Response Capabilities
Continue reading “Federal firefighters to receive retention pay this year”
Chris French recommended an increase in pay for firefighters and boosting fuel management projects by 200% to 400%
It is not often that I watch a Senate or House committee hearing in which wildland fire was a topic and later feel positive about what I heard. The June 24 hearing before the full Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources was different. Chris French, Deputy Chief of the U.S. Forest Service gave citizens of the United States hope that the agency has a realistic view of the world for which the agency is responsible, and most importantly, can speak honestly to Senators about what they can do to help.
Mr. French answered questions about wildland fire and other topics from several Senators during the two-hour session. You can see the entire hearing at the Committee’s website — it begins at 32:50.
One of the most interesting topics to firefighters was the discussion about pay. Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico spoke in clear text when he asked about pay — “How much should we be paying our entry level firefighters? And clearly it’s not $11 it’s not $13.”
“Well, I think clearly enough to support a family,”, Mr. French said, “And to compensate the risk that they take on behalf of the entire American public…. At the end of the day we’re training firefighters at the entry level and then losing them to other firefighting organizations because they are paying double or triple amounts.”
“What is the delta between what you’re paying and what CAL FIRE pays,” Senator Heinrich asked.
“Almost three times, at times”, said Mr. French.
Mr. French was very eloquent, answered questions clearly and concisely, and didn’t ramble on about personal issues. He mentioned that he started his FS career as a GS-4 firefighter in 1994. He should be invited back.
Here is an index of topics in the hearing that wildland firefighters might like to check out.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Ben.
