COLORADO, USA — Some of the nation’s most elite firefighters are about to have their pay cut and some worry it could decimate their ranks.
Congress approved a roughly $20,000 pay bump for most federal wildland firefighters in 2021, but the money is set to expire in October. When it does, starting pay for elite hotshot fire crews will be $15 per hour. Far less, advocates say, than they can earn working at state fire agencies or at other jobs.
“Folks are already leaving,” said Alpine Hotshot Co-Captain Tom Dillon. ”They’re already leaving for those jobs.”
Dillon spoke to 9NEWS over Zoom from a hotel room in California where his crew was on standby to fight fires there, a deployment away from base at Rocky Mountain National Park that’s typical for the job. Federal firefighters can often spend more than two weeks away from home.
“The job is super demanding, obviously,” he said. “Physically demanding. Mentally challenging.”
Dillon is finishing his 18th season fighting fires for the federal government. His base pay, he said, is about $33 per hour. The temporary increase meant about $700 more every paycheck.
“It’s really helped and the idea of it going away is frightening for a lot of folks,” he said. “It’s the difference between staying in this job right now and not, honestly. If it goes away, I’ll be looking for work relatively soon.”
Colorado’s Democratic lawmakers have proposed a permanent extension of the pay raise. Senator Michael Bennet spoke about it on the floor of the Senate Thursday.
“These firefighters are way more than the blazes that they battle and the least we can do is pay them a living wage,” he said.
But Dillon worries efforts to extend pay for firefighters will be lost in the debate over the impending government shutdown. He said the Forest Service has scrounged enough money to keep the increase through October, but then the money will run out.
If the government shuts down this weekend, Dillon and his fellow firefighters will not get paid at all, he said.
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