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The Interior Department has implemented temporary pay improvements for federal wildland firefighters in coordination with our counterparts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service and Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The pay increases began to appear in federal firefighter paychecks the week of July 11.
Interior coordinated with the USDA Forest Service and OPM to identify a way to deliver the pay increases mandated by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law across departmental pay systems and in compliance with federal policies. We are now developing a long-term solution for future years. Everyone involved—from human resource specialists to management officials, lawyers to wildland fire subject matter experts—was dedicated to bringing about a solution as soon as possible knowing that it would make a difference for the federal wildland firefighters protecting the American public, lands, and resources.
This improvement builds upon the Interior Department’s ongoing workforce reforms and President Biden’s 2021 initiative to ensure federal wildland firefighters receive a minimum of $15 per hour.
Together, these reforms represent a generational change for our wildland fire workforce. They will give our employees greater stability and enable them to grow in their positions. They also improve the Department's ability to address more extreme wildfires and meet the year-round needs for wildland fire management activities.
Learn more in the frequently asked questions about the supplemental salary increase.
The Interior Department and USDA Forest Service contributed support to OPM in the creation of a wildland firefighter occupational series to better reflect the unique responsibilities and skillsets of our firefighters. The new series was mandated by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
For the first time in 50 years, there will be a federal occupational series that defines the duties of wildland firefighters with clear details on career advancement.
The Interior Department and USDA Forest Service are now working on measures to implement the new series. Current firefighters will be able to choose whether to opt in to the wildland firefighter series or remain in their current occupational series.
Learn more in the frequently asked questions on the wildland firefighter occupational series.
While the wildland fire community in the U.S. and around the globe has made tremendous strides in recent years to destigmatize mental health concerns for wildland firefighters and provide support, more work is still needed. This includes among the federal wildland firefighters that work to protect America’s public lands.
The Interior and Agriculture departments are taking steps to address this critical need. We have begun work to establish a program to recognize and address mental health needs for permanent, temporary, seasonal, and year-round wildland firefighters. The program is being developed following guidance in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Learn more in our blog post on firefighter mental health.
For anyone seeking immediate mental health support, resources are available right now to wildland firefighters through a variety of sources:
If you or someone else is at immediate risk of harming yourself or another person, call 911.
This summer, federal wildland firefighters with the Interior and Agriculture departments were invited to participate in a rigorous scientific study of firefighter wellbeing, perceptions around health and risk, and occupational hazards.
The Interior and Agriculture departments have teamed up with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the University of California, Berkley’s School of Public Health to assess a wide range of health and wellbeing impacts from this vital profession.
Federal wildland firefighters who chose to participate completed an initial survey, followed by a short survey each day while on a fire assignment. Safety managers began distributing the surveys in June 2022.
The study will provide valuable insights and help inform priorities as the Interior and Agriculture departments develop new mitigation strategies for line-of-duty hazards, additional prevention and training programs, and firefighter mental health resources, as directed by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Learn more on our blog post on the wildland firefighter health and wellbeing study.
The Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, and Homeland Security through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently announced the selection of members to the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission.
Established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the commission will play a key role in recommending ways that federal agencies can better prevent, mitigate, suppress, and manage wildland fires. It will also recommend policies and strategies on how to restore the lands affected by wildfire.
More than 500 applications for non-federal members were received, and 36 were selected, including 18 primary and 18 alternate members. Along with 11 members from federal agencies, the selected applicants represent Tribes, state and local municipalities, and private entities. The commission will be co-chaired by leadership for the departments of the Interior, Agriculture, and FEMA.
Details are available on the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission website.
All federal employees who participate in arduous duty wildland fire activities, and all applicants, must complete medical qualification exams to ensure they can perform this physically-taxing work safely.
In August, the Interior Department’s Wildland Firefighter Medical Standards Program transitioned to a new medical qualification exam tracking system. All new exam requests and self-certifications for current firefighters and applicants must be completed in the new Acuity platform.
All current system users were sent an email welcoming them to the new platform. The email included a registration link that is valid for 30 days. New accounts may also be requested.
If you have questions about this transition, contact Interior's Wildland Fire Medical Standards Program customer service at (888) 286-2521 or wlffcsr@blm.gov.
If you need assistance with the registration process or navigating the new system, please contact Acuity-CHS at 1-888-636-8619 or wlff@chsmedical.com.
Anything that can burn is fuel for a fire, including all types of vegetation, from dead leaves and fallen pine needles, to grasses and shrubs, to towering trees. As vegetation builds up, the risk of an extreme wildfire that torches an entire landscape and threatens lives and property increases.
An important tool in mitigating the risk of wildfires to communities and landscapes is the strategic removal of excessive vegetation. These fuel treatments often include mechanical removal and prescribed fire.
Planning fuel treatments that will have the greatest impact and successfully protect people, homes, infrastructure, and important ecosystems requires a complex analysis of factors ranging from topography to flora, weather to safety, and much more.
In the early 2000s, systems to support fuel management planning proliferated, but they lacked central control and a uniform vision. Starting in 2008, the Interagency Fuel Treatment Decision Support System (IFTDSS) was designed to simplify this process.
Learn more in our blog post on IFTDSS.
Wildland firefighting is difficult, physically arduous work, often undertaken out of the public eye. Every year, thousands of federal, state, local, Tribal, military, and contract firefighters and support personnel respond to wildland fires across the U.S. Due to climate change and other factors, these wildfires are increasingly large and more complex, placing additional demands on this dedicated workforce.
In honor of our nation’s wildland firefighters who answer the call throughout the year, the National Interagency Fire Center’s Fire Management Board proclaimed July 2 as National Wildland Firefighter Day.
On average, wildland firefighters respond to nearly 63,000 wildfires every year across the U.S. Factors such as drought and the expanding wildland-urban interface have led to increasingly complex, challenging fire activity that starts earlier in the year and lasts later into the fall. Despite these conditions, wildland firefighters have remained dedicated and resilient. Every year, they save lives, property, communities, infrastructure, and precious natural and cultural resources.
During the first observance of National Wildland Firefighter Day this year, agencies and people across the country reflected on those who have been lost during wildland firefighting operations and recognized the ongoing work of federal, state, local, Tribal, military, and contract wildland firefighters and support personnel.
Learn more in the National Wildland Firefighter Day announcement by NIFC.
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