We all expect lots of firefighters to show up when big forest fires burn on New Mexico lands. At the height of the Hermit Peak Fire in 2022, more than 3000 firefighters battled the blaze. The Las Conchas Fire in 2011 had 2,200 firefighters struggling to contain the fire. And though both fires were too fierce to control, firefighters protected many houses and other buildings. Without firefighters, many more buildings would have burned down in both fires.
Forest firefighting has been an attractive profession for thousands of people for over a century. Fighting and managing fire serves the community, involves great adventure, and is challenging and fulfilling. It is also hard work with long hours, often dangerous situations, smoke in the lungs, and low pay.
Federal agencies like the US Forest Service, National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management struggle to find and retain firefighters in 2024. According to the Forest Service, 45% of their permanent firefighting workforce has quit in the last three years. These highly trained people must be fit and understand geography, weather, incident organization, equipment, aviation, and fire behavior. Understanding only happens with experience. Firefighters leave the profession for many reasons like imbalanced work and personal life, health risks, poor advancement prospects, and low pay.
The federal government employs 18,700 wildland firefighters, but in recent years, fewer and fewer people are applying for the jobs. In 2022, the Forest Service only filled 73% of its job openings for permanent and seasonal wildland fire positions. Since the jobs start at $15 per hour, people can work in many other places for more pay and be home for their families.
The Biden administration is working to improve the wildland firefighting world by promoting a clear path for advancement, raising pay, and addressing health issues firefighters face. Even President Biden admits that the new pay increases are insufficient, and that Congress must act. Firefighters need at least a 50% pay raise to keep people in the field and attract a young, diverse workforce.
Donald Trump’s campaign has promised to make deep cuts in our already underfunded public land agencies should Trump be elected in November. Trump has vowed to fire federal workers disloyal to him and his agenda. This plan could take a hard toll on federal public land workers who care about conservation and the climate change disaster. Trump denies that climate change is real and promises to reverse the critical work Biden has done to address the climate crisis. Republican policies would vastly worsen the wildfire situation and hasten the shrinkage of firefighting ranks.
Climate change warms and dries forests and grasslands across the West. Drought, coupled with a warming climate, makes for extremely flammable forests. Past fire suppression and overgrazing have left our forests ready for extreme, high-severity fires that convert forests to brush fields and burn homes and communities. The Calf Canyon Fire burned in fire-starved forests and ruined thousands of acres of forests that could still be standing had they experienced low-severity fires often over the last century.
Now is not the time to shrink our firefighting workforce. Not only does the profession offer professional jobs in rural areas, but it is also essential for protecting communities and wildlife habitats. The public needs to know we cannot take firefighters for granted, especially when fires are increasingly big and challenging and threaten millions of homes throughout the West.
