President Biden signs off on raise for federal wildland firefighters

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Joe Biden has signed off on giving federal wildland firefighters a hefty raise for the next two fiscal years.

The pay raise affects more than 16,000 firefighters including firefighters from Washington state.

Pay raises for the firefighters had been included in last year’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill, but was held up as administration officials studied recruitment and retention data.

Agencies are authorized to increase the base salary of federal wildland firefighters by $20,000 per year or 50% of their current base salary, whichever is lower.