Wildland firefighters struggle with homelessness

 But of course we can't expect the super-rich to pay taxes to pay a living wage to these firefighters. That is socialism.

 I suggest reading the whole article

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/21/wildland-firefighters-struggle-homelessness

Brian Osgood
Thu 21 Oct 2021 06.00 EDT

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At a time when wildfires are forcing communities to evacuate or live under layers of ash and smoke, workers say they are being squeezed out of wildland firefighting by low pay and few options to find affordable housing.

“I’m on food stamps and I live in a shack in someone’s back yard. It’s the only housing I can afford,” said a member of an elite helitack unit with the Forest Service in Arizona who makes $15 an hour ferrying crews into fire zones via helicopter. Previously, he’d lived in a van without air conditioning and once suffered from heatstroke after temperatures rose above 109F.

As climate change drives droughts and extreme heat across the western United States, wildfire season continues to grow in length and severity. Blazes largely concentrated in the American west have burned more than 5.6m acres since January, and nearly 18,000 fire personnel were deployed across the country.

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The workforce is dependent on large numbers of temporary and seasonal workers who spend four to six months on the job, often far from family, and are then laid off at the end of fire season. Wages typically hover between $15 and $20 an hour, even for highly experienced wildland firefighters, forcing many to depend heavily on overtime pay to pad their incomes and last them through the off-season.

“I survive by chasing as much overtime as I can,” the 35-year-old Forest Service firefighter said. “Sometimes I’m working 80 to 100 hours a week.”

Several agencies, such as the Bureau of Land Management, say they plan to convert more seasonal job openings into permanent positions, acknowledging the growing demands wrought by climate change and the necessity of providing its workforce with a stable and financially viable career path.

But workers continue to struggle to find affordable housing. None of the federal agencies that oversee wildland firefighting guarantee lodging for all workers. Some locations offer spaces in bunkhouses free of charge or at reduced rates, but employees say these benefits are inconsistent.

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With the scope of wildfires becoming impossible to ignore, politicians have started to address how workers are affected. On 19 October, Representative Joe Neguse introduced the Tim Hart Wildland Firefighter Classification and Pay Parity Act with Representatives Katie Porter and Liz Cheney, which would overhaul federal firefighter pay, benefits, and worker classifications. Tim’s Act is named after Michelle’s husband, Tim Hart.

Neguse told the Guardian that the low pay experienced by wildland firefighters was “simply outrageous”. His bill, which is a piece of standalone legislation, would raise hourly pay to $20 an hour, provide housing stipends for firefighters on duty more than 50 miles from their primary residence, extend retirement benefits to temporary and seasonal workers, and expand mental health benefits, among other provisions.

On a recent visit to the western United States, Joe Biden used the spectacle of the fires to promote his $1tn infrastructure bill, which also includes investments in climate resiliency and $600m for wildland firefighters. If passed, it would result in an estimated yearly salary increase of $20,000 for federal wildland firefighters. But with the future of the infrastructure bill uncertain, Tim’s Act may become the focus of legislative efforts to improve the position of wildland firefighters.

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