I was a wildfire fighter for six years. The reason they’re quitting is simple.

 

...In wildfires, safety depends on your co-workers. There’s luck and there’s the strength to resist stupidity, but often you rely on the experience level of the person beside you.

The U.S. Forest Service is losing experience. Federal firefighters are quitting. Leadership is leaving. Recruitment is abysmal. The reason is simple: The government hasn’t significantly raised pay in decades.

Thirty years ago, a fire job could afford you a modest home. The value proposition was fair — work a year’s worth of hours in one summer and come away with a year’s pay.

But wages have barely gone up since then. An ordinary wildland firefighter will have a pay grade from GS-3 to GS-6. In 2024, the base rate for a GS-3 was $12.93 an hour. In 2014, it was $10.57. To keep up with inflation, this summer a GS-3 firefighter starts at $12.93. No step increases — you get laid off every fall. No matter how many years you work, each one counts as your first...more