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Trump's federal hiring freeze halts onboarding of federal firefighting crews ahead of wildfire season [View all]
CNN — The federal hiring freeze implemented by President Donald Trump has affected the hiring of a crucial group of federal workers: firefighters. The freeze comes at a critical time, when fire departments across the country would typically onboard thousands of seasonal federal firefighters in preparation for wildfires in the spring and summer.
“It’s going to be really bad, really quick,” said Ben McLane, a federal hand crew captain and board member with Grassroots Wildland Firefighters. “We’re going to have a lack of personnel when fire season gets going. The precedent that we’ve seen over the last few decades at this point is making us pretty certain that it’s going to be a big fire season again.”
…Federal firefighters are an essential part of the nation’s firefighting capability. The Department of the Interior employed 5,780 federal wildland fire personnel in 2024, while the US Forest Service employed over 11,300. Federal firefighters “respond to fires all over the nation and internationally,” according to McLane. “The federal government is the only resource that does that as fluidly and nimbly.”
…The freeze also comes as fire departments across the country have already faced staff shortages. In Los Angeles, where devastating wildfires killed dozens of people and destroyed thousands of homes in January, the fire department is less staffed than almost any other major city, with less than one firefighter for every 1,000 residents.
And federal firefighters too have struggled to maintain staffing, largely because they are “woefully underpaid,” according to Steve Gutierrez, who represents federal firefighters and other land management employees for the National Federation of Federal Employees. Federal firefighters can make just $15 an hour starting out, according to Gutierrez, who called attention to a bill currently in Congress that would raise firefighters’ pay.
More at https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/02/08/us/firefighters-federal-hiring-freeze
“It’s going to be really bad, really quick,” said Ben McLane, a federal hand crew captain and board member with Grassroots Wildland Firefighters. “We’re going to have a lack of personnel when fire season gets going. The precedent that we’ve seen over the last few decades at this point is making us pretty certain that it’s going to be a big fire season again.”
…Federal firefighters are an essential part of the nation’s firefighting capability. The Department of the Interior employed 5,780 federal wildland fire personnel in 2024, while the US Forest Service employed over 11,300. Federal firefighters “respond to fires all over the nation and internationally,” according to McLane. “The federal government is the only resource that does that as fluidly and nimbly.”
…The freeze also comes as fire departments across the country have already faced staff shortages. In Los Angeles, where devastating wildfires killed dozens of people and destroyed thousands of homes in January, the fire department is less staffed than almost any other major city, with less than one firefighter for every 1,000 residents.
And federal firefighters too have struggled to maintain staffing, largely because they are “woefully underpaid,” according to Steve Gutierrez, who represents federal firefighters and other land management employees for the National Federation of Federal Employees. Federal firefighters can make just $15 an hour starting out, according to Gutierrez, who called attention to a bill currently in Congress that would raise firefighters’ pay.
More at https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/02/08/us/firefighters-federal-hiring-freeze
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