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Labor shortage compounds federal firefighters’ staffing woes

Jonathon Golden, a former federal firefighter, poses for a photograph on May 19, 2022, in Little Cottonwood Canyon, near Salt Lake City. Firefighter groups are applauding steps taken by the Biden administration to temporarily raise wages for the men and women on the front lines of the nation's largest wildfires. “It’s an effort and an attempt to try to to keep people at their jobs,” said Golden. “But it still falls woefully short of the pay in municipal departments and other state agencies.” (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) Jonathon Golden, a former federal firefighter, poses for a photograph on May 19, 2022, in Little Cottonwood Canyon, near Salt Lake City. Firefighter groups are applauding steps taken by the Biden administration to temporarily raise wages for the men and women on the front lines of the nation's largest wildfires. “It’s an effort and an attempt to try to to keep people at their jobs,” said Golden. “But it still falls woefully short of the pay in municipal departments and other state agencies.” (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) FILE - Wildland firefighters from several agencies throughout the country wait along state road 283 to be sent into the Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon Fires burning just west of Las Vegas, N.M. on May 7, 2022. Firefighter groups are applauding steps taken by the Biden administration to temporarily raise wages for the men and women on the front lines of the nation's largest wildfires. (Roberto E. Rosales/The Albuquerque Journal via AP, File) FILE - Hot shot crew members keep an eye on the blaze as fire crews ignite the underbrush off of Forest Road 545B in an effort to contain the Pipeline Fire near Flagstaff, Arizona on June 15, 2022. Firefighter groups are applauding steps taken by the Biden administration to temporarily raise wages for the men and women on the front lines of the nation's largest wildfires. (Rachel Gibbons/Arizona Daily Sun via AP, File) FILE - President Joe Biden speaks during a visit to the National Interagency Fire Center, Sept. 13, 2021, in Boise, Idaho. Biden on June 21, 2022, signed off on giving federal wildland firefighters a hefty raise for the next two fiscal years, a move that comes as much of the West is bracing for a difficult wildfire season. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) FILE - President Joe Biden greets firefighters as he tours the National Interagency Fire Center, Sept. 13, 2021, in Boise, Idaho. Biden on June 21, 2022, signed off on giving federal wildland firefighters a hefty raise for the next two fiscal years, a move that comes as much of the West is bracing for a difficult wildfire season. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Labor shortage compounds federal firefighters’ staffing woes