U.S. President Joe Biden announced pay raises for federal firefighters on Wednesday and said the United States was behind in its preparations for a potential record number of forest fires this year because of drought and high temperatures.
At a virtual meeting on Wednesday with governors, Cabinet members, and business leaders, Biden discussed how the country could better prepare for a phenomenon that climate scientists say will only get worse as climate change fuels more frequent extreme weather events.
Reuters reported that the White House wants to show that this administration will be treating wildfires as no less than a national emergency, the same as hurricanes are treated.
Biden also responded to the fact that the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management face staffing shortages accelerated by low pay and competition from state and local fire departments.
According to KCRA.com, Biden was dismayed at the starting pay for federal firefighters, which is lower than many local and state fire agencies. Pay for new federal firefighters typically starts at $11 per hour to $14 per hour and they are overtime-eligible, according to the Interior Department.
To that end, the president is raising the base pay for firefighters from $13 to $15 an hour, while working with Congress to try to increase the wages permanently. Bonuses will also be paid to firefighters working on the front lines.
“Climate change is driving a dangerous confluence of extreme heat and prolonged drought. We’re seeing wildfires of greater intensity that move with more speed,” that last well beyond the traditional months of the fire season, Biden said. “That’s a problem for all of us.”
There are currently 15,000 U.S. Forest Service and Interior Department firefighters. About 70 percent are permanent employees and 30 percent are seasonal. At one time, the percentages were reversed, but climate change has changed the fire seasons, making them longer and rougher.
Besides the increase in pay, the administration will be working with Congress to convert at least 1,000 seasonal wildland firefighters to year-round workers as fires have grown more severe.
The Biden administration also plans to improve early detection efforts through satellite monitoring and create more surge capacity for responding to fires through more equipment and aviation.
“The truth is we’re playing catch up. This is an area that has been under-resourced, but that’s going to change if we have anything to do with it,” Biden said.
