From Temporary Band-Aids to Permanent Law
For three years, federal wildland firefighters lived paycheck to paycheck on a temporary supplement that Congress kept threatening to let expire. Now, for the first time, the raise is permanent. It's law. And it's already showing up in paychecks.
On March 15, 2025, President Biden signed H.R. 1968 into law, enacting the most significant pay restructuring for federal wildland firefighters in decades. The legislation creates new special salary tables that permanently increase base pay for wildland fire positions across the General Schedule. The raises range from 42% at the GS-1 level down to 1.5% at GS-15, with the largest increases concentrated where they matter most — at the entry and journeyman levels where retention has been hemorrhaging.
This wasn't a gift. It was extracted through years of organizing, congressional testimony, media pressure, and more than a few wildland firefighters going public about qualifying for food stamps while protecting million-dollar homes from wildfire.
The New Pay Tables, Broken Down
The new special salary tables took effect during pay period 8, covering April 22 through May 5, 2025. The first paychecks reflecting the new rates arrived by May 12, 2025. Back pay was calculated retroactively to March 23, 2025.
Here's what the increases look like according to the OPM special salary tables:
- GS-1: 42% increase
- GS-5: 30% increase
- GS-6: 27% increase
- GS-13: 6% increase
- GS-14: 3% increase
- GS-15: 1.5% increase
The sliding scale is intentional. The retention crisis was most acute at the lower grades — the hotshot crew members, engine operators, and squad bosses who do the most physically demanding work for the least pay. A GS-5 forestry technician in a high-cost area could previously earn less than a fast-food shift supervisor. The 30% bump doesn't make them wealthy, but it closes a gap that had become indefensible.
What About Overtime and Hazard Pay?
The law also establishes a new Incident Response Premium Pay category, capped at the GS-10 step 10 rate. This premium is limited to $9,000 per year. It's designed to compensate firefighters for the extended operational periods during fire assignments — the 16-hour shifts, the two-week rolls, the time away from family during peak season.
The $9,000 cap has drawn criticism from some advocacy groups who argue it's too low given the actual hours worked during a busy fire season. But it represents a new, codified category of compensation that didn't exist before. That matters for precedent.
Why This Is Different From the Old Supplement
Between 2022 and 2025, federal wildland firefighters received a temporary pay supplement that was authorized through annual appropriations. It was better than nothing, but it came with a critical flaw: it didn't count toward retirement calculations.
Federal retirement benefits under FERS are calculated based on base pay. A temporary supplement, no matter how large, doesn't move the needle on retirement. Firefighters who received the supplement for three years saw no change in their projected pension or their Thrift Savings Plan matching calculations.
The new permanent special salary tables fix this. The increased pay is base pay. It counts toward retirement. It counts toward TSP matching. It counts toward Social Security earnings. This is the difference between a raise and a temporary bonus, and it's the distinction that wildland firefighters and their advocates fought hardest to secure.
Following the Money: How This Got Done
Understanding how this law came to pass requires understanding who pushed for it and what they were pushing against.
The groundwork was laid by organizations like Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, an advocacy group founded by active federal firefighters who were tired of waiting for their agencies to act. They organized. They testified. They put real names and faces on the pay disparity — firefighters with 15 years of experience earning $15 an hour while the structures they protected were valued in the millions.
Congressional champions included lawmakers from Western states where wildland fire is an annual reality. The bipartisan coalition that pushed the legislation understood a basic truth: you cannot retain experienced wildland firefighters if you pay them less than the municipal departments and private-sector companies competing for the same talent.
The federal land management agencies — the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service — were losing firefighters at alarming rates. Training a wildland firefighter to the level of a squad boss or division supervisor takes years. Every experienced firefighter who walks away represents a six-figure investment in training and institutional knowledge that walks out the door.
The Retention Numbers
Internal agency data obtained through FOIA requests painted a stark picture. Some districts were experiencing annual turnover rates exceeding 40% at the entry level. Entire hotshot crews were turning over every two to three seasons. The institutional knowledge loss was degrading operational effectiveness — not in theory, but in measurable outcomes on the fireline.
When a crew shows up to a fire assignment and half the members are on their first or second season, the entire operation slows down. Supervision demands increase. Risk tolerance changes. Mistakes become more likely. Pay reform wasn't just a labor issue. It was a safety issue.
What's Still on the Table
The permanent pay reform is significant, but it's not the end of the conversation. The Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act of 2025 (S. 135) remains pending in the Senate. This legislation would establish additional protections for wildland firefighter compensation, including provisions addressing overtime calculations and portal-to-portal pay for travel to fire assignments.
There's also the ongoing question of classification. Federal wildland firefighters are still classified as "forestry technicians" in the Office of Personnel Management system — a classification that doesn't reflect the actual duties, risks, or training requirements of the job. Reclassification to a dedicated wildland firefighter series has been a top priority for advocacy groups and would have implications for pay, benefits, and hiring authorities.
What This Means on the Ground
I spoke with wildland firefighters across three agencies in the weeks after the new pay rates took effect. The reactions were consistent: relief, cautious optimism, and a lingering distrust of the system that took so long to act.
"I've been doing this for twelve years. I've watched guys leave for municipal departments, for utility companies, for anything that paid enough to cover rent. This raise means I can stay. That's what it means to me — I can keep doing the job I love without choosing between my career and feeding my family."
That sentiment was echoed repeatedly. The pay reform isn't making anyone rich. But it's making the job sustainable. And sustainability is what drives retention.
For Those Considering the Job
If you've been eyeing a career in wildland firefighting, the financial picture is materially better than it was two years ago. A GS-5 step 1 wildland firefighter now earns a competitive starting wage, with permanent benefits that reflect the demands of the work.
The job itself hasn't changed. It's still physically brutal. The seasons are still long. The time away from home is still measured in weeks, not days. But the compensation now begins to match the sacrifice — and the retirement benefits actually accumulate in a meaningful way.
For a full overview of what the career looks like, including training pipelines and advancement paths, check out our guide to becoming a firefighter. The wildland track has its own unique requirements, and understanding them before you apply will put you ahead of the curve.
The Bigger Picture
The wildland firefighter pay reform is a case study in how change happens in the federal workforce. It took a convergence of factors: catastrophic fire seasons that made the issue visible, grassroots organizing that made it personal, media coverage that made it undeniable, and a bipartisan coalition in Congress that made it politically viable.
The firefighters who organized, testified, and refused to be silent about pay disparities deserve credit. So do the congressional staffers who drafted and redrafted the legislative language. So do the agency personnel officers who implemented the new pay tables on an aggressive timeline.
But credit doesn't pay the mortgage. What matters now is that the checks are bigger, the retirement calculations are real, and the next generation of wildland firefighters won't have to choose between the job and a living wage.
That's progress. Overdue, imperfect, incomplete — but progress.