Wildland  Firefighters Abandoned

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Published on 08/11/2024 by Jason Schwartz

Coach Scott and Janelle Valentine— Danger in Wildland  Firefighters Abandoned… USA Vulnerability

Summary & Transcript 

  • [00:02 → 01:32]
    Introduction to the Topic and Guest
  • Host Coach Scott introduces the topic focusing on the challenges faced by Federal Wildland Firefighters across the U.S., especially those working in remote or outlying federal lands such as national parks, Native American lands, and Bureau of Interior lands.
  • The discussion highlights jurisdictional differences and pay disparitiesamong firefighters on federal lands versus state or municipal agencies.
  • Guest introduced: Janelle Valentine, co-founder and president of Fired Up Partners, an emerging nonprofit supporting partners and spouses of federal Wildland firefighters, advocating for equitable working conditions.
  • [01:32 → 04:12]
    Federal Wildland Firefighter Pay and Workforce Overview
  • Federal Wildland firefighters are paid significantly less than their state and municipal counterparts, starting at a base of about $15/hour.
  • Compared to structure firefighters and state agencies (e.g., CAL FIRE, Oregon Department of Forestry, Hawaii State Fire), federal wildland firefighter pay is exponentially lower despite covering 99% of all federal lands.
  • Janelle’s husband, a U.S. Forest Service firefighter with over 10 years’ experience, makes about $23/hour, less than wages offered by retail or delivery jobs.
  • There are approximately 15,000 federal wildland firefighters working on federal lands, responsible for vast areas including national parks, BIA, BLM, and US Forest Service lands.
  • Cost of living adjustments are inconsistent; many firefighters live in remote areas with limited amenities, creating financial hardship for families.
  • [04:12 → 07:41]
    Living Conditions and Staffing Shortages
  • Many firefighters live hours from basic services, often as single-income households due to the lack of daycare and employment options for spouses in rural postings.
  • There is a significant exodus from federal wildland firefighting positions due to low pay and poor conditions.
  • Federal firefighters operate both locally and nationally, deployed to wildfires and other disasters such as hurricanes, tsunamis, pandemics, and even space shuttle crashes.
  • Current staffing levels are dangerously low, causing concerns for firefighter safety and effectiveness in wildfire response.
  • [07:41 → 09:44]
    Impact of Staffing Shortages on Firefighting Tactics and Safety
  • Due to insufficient staffing, firefighters cannot always attack fires directly; instead, they often must hold fire lines at roads or other defensible boundaries, allowing fires to grow larger before direct suppression.
  • This strategy is partly ecological, recognizing that some fires naturally benefit forest health, but also driven by the lack of personnel to safely engage early.
  • The combination of ecological necessity and resource shortages creates complex firefighting decisions.
  • [09:44 → 12:29]
    Complexities of Firefighter Roles and Pay Discrepancies with Contractors
  • Volunteers and municipal firefighters sometimes respond to wildfires under contractor arrangements, paid at much higher rates than federal firefighters.
  • Contractors can cost double or triple the amount of federal firefighters, sometimes around $50-$60/hour, compared to federal wages of about $23-$35/hour.
  • Additionally, the government pays to backfill contractor positions, effectively paying $120/hour or more for a single firefighter’s role.
  • Contractors usually have less rigorous training and are assigned less critical tasks, which can reduce the quality and safety of firefighting efforts despite the higher cost.
Role Hourly Wage Range Notes
Federal Wildland Firefighter $15 – $35 Lower base pay, overtime unpaid
Contractors/Volunteers $50 – $60 Paid more, often less trained
Backfill for Contractors ~$120 (combined cost) Includes paying original workers and contractors
  • [12:29 → 15:31]
    Legislative Advocacy: Wildland Firefighter Pay Protection Act (WFPA)
  • The bipartisan Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act (WFPA)aims to make a permanent pay increase for federal wildland firefighters.
  • The 2021 Infrastructure Bill included a temporary 50% pay increase or $20,000 cap, which expired October 1, 2023. Currently, Continuing Resolutions (CRs) maintain this pay temporarily.
  • Without permanent legislation, firefighters stand to lose significant income (e.g., $750 extra per paycheck) critical for families’ survival.
  • Survey data: 64% of federal wildland firefighters consider leaving their jobs if no permanent fix is secured, posing a national security risk given their role in disaster response beyond firefighting.
  • [15:31 → 20:38]
    Broader Roles of Wildland Firefighters and Offseason Work
  • Federal wildland firefighters also participate in prescribed burns, thinning, and creating firebreaks during offseason to prevent catastrophic wildfires.
  • These preventative measures are physically demanding and dangerous but essential for ecosystem management and public safety.
  • Despite efforts to increase year-round staffing and create more fuels crews (specialized hand crews performing thinning and burning), positions remain unfilled due to pay and living conditions.
  • The workforce has declined drastically over the past decade; positions that were once highly competitive are now difficult to fill.
  • These shortages contribute to increased wildfire risk and have real consequences, as seen in recent devastating fires such as the Lina fire in Maui.
  • [20:38 → 24:07]
    FEMA and Disaster Response
  • Wildland firefighters form a significant part of FEMA’s disaster response workforce, responding to a range of emergencies beyond wildfires.
  • Low staffing in wildland firefighting directly impacts FEMA’s ability to respond quickly and effectively to disasters, compounding risks for affected communities.
  • The physical demands and risks of the job are intense: firefighters must pass a rigorous pack test (3 miles in 45 minutes with 45 lbs), face long deployments (2-4 weeks), and endure unpaid sleeping hours despite dangerous conditions.
  • [24:07 → 31:00]
    Challenges in Legislative Support and Political Roadblocks
  • Despite bipartisan support, the WFPA bill is stalled in the House Committee on Natural Resources, chaired by Congressman Bruce Westerman (R-AR).
  • Opposition from Representative Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), who introduced a competing bill with a less comprehensive, temporary pay fix, has also slowed progress.
  • The current pay increase is treated as a bonus and does not apply to overtime, benefits, or retirement, which are critical components of firefighters’ compensation.
  • The complexity of federal pay scales and political hesitation contribute to ongoing uncertainty and stress for firefighters and their families.
  • [31:00 → 36:55]
    WFPA Bill Details and Proposed Improvements
  • The WFPA requests about $2.2 billion over 5 years, rated as debt neutralbecause it is expected to save money by reducing reliance on expensive contractors.
  • The bill proposes:
    • A base pay increase scaled by GS level (with larger increases for lower-paid firefighters).
    • Hazard pay extension to include prescribed burn incidents, not currently compensated despite risks.
    • An improved overnight pay rate for firefighters sleeping on-site during assignments, which is currently minimal.
  • The bill aims to create stable, equitable wages reflecting the physical danger and demands of the job.
  • [36:55 → 42:02]
    Housing and Homelessness Crisis Among Firefighters
  • A recent survey found that 86% of federal wildland firefighters either are homeless or know someone who is homeless due to their job.
  • Government housing is often unavailable, unaffordable, or in poor condition (mold, rats, dilapidated), forcing firefighters to sleep in vehicles or temporary camps.
  • Forest Service housing costs are based on average rents in nearby municipalities, which often results in excessively high charges for substandard accommodations, sometimes costing more than mortgages.
  • Camping on Forest Service land is limited to 14 days, forcing firefighters to repeatedly relocate during fire seasons, worsening housing instability.
  • [42:02 → 45:18]
    Recognition and Classification Issues
  • Federal wildland firefighters are officially classified as “forestry technicians”, not as firefighters or first responders, which affects pay, benefits, and recognition.
  • The bipartisan infrastructure bill included provisions to create a separate classification, but this change has yet to be implemented.
  • This lack of official recognition diminishes their status and contributes to inadequate support despite the dangerous and critical nature of their work.
  • [45:18 → 52:09]
    Political and Industry Challenges: Logging and Fire Management
  • Some opposition to the pay bill is linked to differing views on forest management, including lobbying around logging and land use.
  • Clear-cut logging is not seen as a comprehensive solution to wildfire risk; it often leaves behind underbrush and slash piles that fuel fires.
  • Federal wildland firefighters support better forest management but emphasize that adequate staffing and pay are essential to implement effective fire prevention and response strategies.
  • The decline in federal staffing has led to loss of crews, incident management teams, and critical wildfire infrastructure, worsening fire risks nationwide.
  • [52:09 → 56:29]
    Rural Living and Resource Scarcity
  • Many federal wildland firefighters live in extremely rural areas with populations as small as a few thousand spread over huge land areas (e.g., Catron County, NM with 4,500 people over the size of Maui).
  • There are virtually no local services, no big retailers, and limited rental or housing options.
  • Despite protecting vast federal lands, many firefighters face lack of basic resources and community infrastructure.
  • Most legislators have limited understanding of the wildland firefighting workforce or their challenges, underscoring the need for grassroots education and advocacy.
  • [56:29 → 01:00:00]
    Call to Action and Support Resources
  • Fired Up Partners and Grassroots Wildland Firefighters are key organizations advocating for federal wildland firefighters.
  • Public support is critical to influence Congress to pass the WFPA and provide permanent, equitable pay and protections.
  • Resources for engagement and donations include:
  • The catastrophic fires in Maui and other parts of the country underscore the urgent need to support and properly compensate these frontline workers.

Key Insights

  • Federal wildland firefighters protect 99% of federal lands yet receive significantly lower pay than state or municipal firefighters.
  • Severe understaffing and low pay drive a workforce crisis, risking public safety and firefighter wellbeing.
  • Contractors are costly and less trained, increasing fire management expenses and lowering effectiveness.
  • The Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act (HR 5169/S 2272) proposes permanent pay increases, hazard pay for prescribed burns, and better overnight pay.
  • Housing instability and homelessness are widespread among federal wildland firefighters due to inadequate government housing and low wages.
  • Federal wildland firefighters lack official recognition as first responders, diminishing their status and benefits.
  • Legislative progress is stalled in committee despite bipartisan support due to political roadblocks and competing interests.
  • Public awareness and grassroots advocacy are critical to advancing reforms and securing the future of this essential workforce.

Timeline Table: Legislative and Workforce Highlights

Date/Period Event/Status Impact/Notes
2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill passed Temporary 50% pay increase for federal wildland firefighters included
Oct 1, 2023 Temporary pay increase expired Threat of significant pay cut unless new legislation passed
Sept 2022 & June 2023 Janelle Valentine lobbies in Washington, DC Advocating for WFPA; raising awareness
Current WFPA stalled in House Natural Resources Committee No permanent pay increase; funding uncertainty persists
Ongoing Staffing shortages growing steadily Workforce decline threatens fire management and safety
Recent Forest Service awards 50% housing reimbursement retroactive to March 1 Limited to Forest Service employees only

Definitions and Terms

Term Definition
Federal Wildland Firefighter Firefighter employed by federal agencies (US Forest Service, NPS, BLM, BIA) managing wildland fires on federal lands
Contractor Private or municipal firefighters hired on contract basis at higher pay rates, less training
WFPA (Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act) Proposed legislation to permanently increase federal wildland firefighter pay and benefits
Pack Test Physical fitness test for firefighters: 3 miles in 45 minutes carrying 45 pounds
Fuel Crew Specialized hand crew performing thinning, prescribed burns, and firebreak maintenance
Continuing Resolution (CR) Temporary funding measure to keep government agencies operational when full budget not passed
GS Levels General Schedule pay grades for federal employees, with GS 1 lowest and GS 15 highest

Summary

This interview with Janelle Valentine sheds critical light on the dire situation facing federal wildland firefighters in the United States. Despite their vital role in protecting over 99% of federal lands and responding to a wide array of national disasters, these firefighters confront chronic underpayment, poor living conditions, housing instability, and inadequate recognition. The workforce is rapidly shrinking due to low wages, forcing agencies to rely heavily on expensive and less trained contractors, which paradoxically increases firefighting costs and reduces operational effectiveness.

The Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act (WFPA) represents a bipartisan effort to address these challenges by providing permanent pay raises, hazard pay for prescribed burns, and better compensation for overnight deployments. However, political roadblocks have stalled this critical legislation, leaving firefighters and their families in precarious financial and safety conditions.

Housing is a particularly acute problem, with many firefighters living in dilapidated government housing, vehicles, or tents, often in remote areas without access to basic services. The lack of official recognition as first responders further marginalizes this workforce and complicates efforts to improve their status.

The conversation underscores the urgent need for public awareness and advocacy to pressure Congress into passing meaningful reforms. Without immediate action, the nation risks losing a highly trained workforce essential for wildfire prevention, disaster response, and public safety, with potentially catastrophic consequences—as seen recently in Maui and other fire-affected communities.

Resources and Contacts

This detailed summary captures all the key points and nuances presented by Janelle Valentine and Coach Scott, providing a comprehensive understanding of the federal wildland firefighting crisis grounded strictly in the transcript content.

Timestamped Full Transcript

00:02
station I Str I have good k a KU 88.5 FM all right we got this Aloha we’re trying to get the play going on here I hit play did I oh bam we’re there good morning Maui it’s coach Scott it’s a beautiful day on the island of Maui we’re here today we have Janelle Valentine from the firefighters uh Wildland firefighters and she’ll be with us shortly but we’re going to be talking about some issues today that are near and dear to my heart firefighters across our country believe it or not the ones that are in

 

01:01
the outlying areas let’s say with the fire we had up on Haka last week when firefighters that go from here down below they go up to a national park they go to Native American lands they go to Bureau of interior lands they all fall under a different jurisdiction they fall under a different pay range but we’re going to have Jan on a little in a little bit we’re going to be talking about these things because there’s a real disparity for the last 20 plus years and J will be talking about

 

01:32
this how we’ve kind of lost touch with keeping care of the people that take care of our wildlands so I like to introduce Janelle Valentine Janelle are you there I’m here well welcome to the neutral zone on Maui I’m glad to have you glad to have you here today awesome tell us a little bit about what you’ve got going on Janelle so I am the co-founder and president of fired up partners um we are a starting or in the process of becoming a nonprofit organization of Partners and spouses of federal Wildland firefighters

 

02:11
and we are working towards creating a more Equitable work environment for our country’s Federal Wildman firefighters excellent when you say Equitable can you kind of go into that so that we can understand that better yeah of course um so our federal Wildland firefighters are paid at a kind of Staggering low rate right now um they’re starting at a base pay of $15 an hour um excuse me and compared to State agencies when you think of calire or um like odf or even Hawaii State Fire um they’re paid quite a bit lower they’re

 

02:51
paid exponentially lower than um structure firefighters Federal Wildland fires firefighters um protect all federal land so that’s national parks Bia um BLM um US Forest Service all all federal lands are protected by um Federal Wildland firefighters who are employed through the DOI or the USDA and right now their pay is drastically lower than it should be um my husband is a federal wildland firefighter for the US Forest Service he has been with the forest service for over 10 years he is currently um the assistant of a hand

 

03:34
crew um a Wildland fire module in New Mexico and um he makes $23 an hour um he could work at Walmart or UPS or FedEx or Applebees and make more money essentially um so we’re really just we’re trying to the first thing we’re trying to do we have a bunch of issues but the first thing we’re trying to do is maintain an equitable wage for firefighters um how firefighters are we talking about Janelle how many firefighter right now there are about 15,000 Federal Wildland firefighters 15,000 and they’re covering 99% of all

 

04:12
government property yes yeah there are um there are um firefighters who are contracted for structure like on Military basis and things like that but that’s a different pay grade so they are protecting in all federal lands wow so I don’t know if you saw that the other day we had a fire up on holaca and that’s a national park obviously and right so those firefighters would be employed with The NPS so they would be um making those low wages even in Hawaii there is cost of living increases in some areas but it’s

 

04:51
not widespread because of how the government calculates cost of living um so places like Boseman Montana um Idaho Salt Lake City places like that aren’t getting any cost of living increase even though they’re extremely expensive places to live we don’t have to tell anybody that the cost of everything has gone up this last few years that’s just you can’t be alive and not know what a grocery store costs these days yeah absolutely and a lot of our our federal Wildland firefighters are living in

 

05:23
really remote areas um my family lives an hour from the closest grocery store um we don’t have any amenities out here and we we we we’re a single- income household because of that I can’t work because there’s no dayc carees there’s we have two young children there’s no dayc carees there’s no um there’s really no options for me to work out here because of that and so we’re living off of my husband’s wage exclusively and that is not um a unique situation for

 

05:53
federal wild and firefighter families um having to be single income because of the duty stations that are assigned to them or that they apply for um so there lies their really difficulty for I mean I I realize that if you’re out in the middle of nowhere New Mexico or out in the middle of nowhere Wyoming or Texas where these horrendous fires which seem to get bigger every year um and we seem to have less and less firefighters in the field right we’re currently experiencing a huge Exodus of our federal wild fire

 

06:30
Fighters unfortunately the wage has not kept up with cost of living it hasn’t kept up with with where things need to be and my like we they so the way that Federal Wildland Fire Works is um let’s say that we’re we’re stationed here in New Mexico my husband works in New Mexico and um once New Mexico’s fire season is over and we’re pretty set here then they go National so he could respond to a fire in Hawaii or anywhere in the country um when they’re having them as long as New Mexico is not on

 

07:02
fire they’re a national resource so they’re not tied down to where they’re at um they go all over the country um they also respond to FEMA incidents they respond to hurricanes tsunamis um covid uh like vaccine stations they bird flu um space shuttle crashes any natural or or large disaster those are our wild end firefighters are responding to them and unfortunately the workforce is dwindling drastically um almost nowhere that I know of is fully staffed we’re not fully staffed here where my husband is um

 

07:41
we’re we’re actually dangerously lowly staffed where he’s at right now so we’re this this whole situation is is just we’re just dialing it in for a catastrophe or someone getting hurt or fire Wildland firefighters getting hurt because they don’t have the staff in the field do you think Janelle this has any part to do with some of these fires that have gotten so huge now because of just the lack of Staffing oh for sure they’re having to employ different types of firefighting

 

08:11
um techniques because of low Staffing um the less people that are available to respond to a fire the bigger a fire has to grow to make it safe to fight um as an example if you don’t if you a call goes out let’s say there’s a large fire here in New Mexico a call goes out um and a lot of the resources are unfilled that means they can’t go directly in and fight that fire they have to hold back and fight it at the closest roads to make it the safest situation possible um to make sure that they get to come home

 

08:40
wait a minute wait a minute wait a minute so the location of the fire it seemed to me that it used to be that when workers were dispatched to fight a fire they go right to the fire and now because of Staffing they have to go to a road and wait for the fire to get to that point um not exclusively that there’s also the fact that always putting out a fire isn’t ecologically the best decision there’s a lot of places where fire is a natural occurrence and it needs to happen so they’ll do like a big box

 

09:12
which is where it comes up to the road that you’re holding it on or they light off a road and so there are there are cases where um for the last hundred years not up until the last 20 years for the 100 years before that the forest service um and federal agencies had to put it out exclusiv policy and unfortunately that led to um overgrowth of our forests that was poor management some fires do need to be allowed to burn the underbrush and and create a healthy environment um but there are places

 

09:44
where now that’s just not possible even because of low Staffing so we can’t there it’s it’s both things it’s both things happening um there are some cases where the fire needs to grow because that’s the best thing for the landscape and there are cases where it needs to grow to keep everyone alive um on the fire line I see so let me get this right so let’s say a local volunteer fire department in some small town and then there’s Wildland fire goes off now is there those volunteers do they actually

 

10:17
get to go on to Federal pay if they’re fighting a fire um on the borders there I I’m just trying to understand the because it seems like a lot more complex issue cuz you get out in the middle of nowhere American America which is not nowhere it’s some of the most beautiful parts of America but it’s a it’s definitely a complex issue there’s Federal contractors that’s part of our issue right now with pay um so there are federal contractors volunteers do occasionally or regularly get called

 

10:46
into um fires um and municipal fire departments will get called to Wild nires as well if they have a wild ire program um and they are paid at a contractor rate so to bring it back to our pay issue um to give a a hyperbolic example let’s say my husband makes $24 an hour um he is unavailable to respond to this fire so we have to call in a private contractor which is your municipalities your volunteers or just private um Wildland companies and we have to pay them from our government money we have to pay them um their

 

11:25
whatever rate they’ve set so um in general it’s about double sometimes three times as much as a federal resource so they’re getting paid $50 to $60 an hour for my husband’s same position and then when we do that we also have to pay to backfill them where they came from so we’re paying about $120 an hour for one person when my husband is asking for you know 30 $35 an hour to stick around on the federal side and make it worth his while so so okay now this makes a lot of sense because

 

11:59
some sometimes you start reading about a Wildland fire and they saying they costing millions of dollars obviously they’re not paying their Wildland firefighters that are there the First Responders to the fire they’re bringing in contractors and whoever else you know and that’s where the big money goes when these fires are going on yes um there’s published Graphics um both on my website for fired up and you can find them on um the USDA website that breaks down the contractor pay versus what they’re

 

12:29
paying salaries and it’s um over double for contractors that we’re paying right now versus the salaries for our well now firefighters but it’s more than that because you were saying that if we they bring in contractors then they’re also paying people to cover the other districts where they left so they’re having to pay double plus double so I mean that’s just hor it’s just it’s that’s just a waste it’s yes and the other issue with that is that we can’t guarantee the

 

12:56
training of the people that we’re calling in a lot of times they’re less qualified um I love our contractors they’re great um but they don’t have the same training requirements as our federal Wildland firefighters do so when we’re calling them in a lot of the time um they aren’t able to do the same caliber of work they’re usually put on less strenuous tasks um and kind of had having to be um like handheld a bit by the federal federal people um to get the job done and unfortunately yeah so we’re

 

13:31
we’re paying up to quadruple as much for um less less quality work oh wow and what’s your website Janelle um it is sites.google.com fired up partners and people can donate there too for your you’ve been to I you you’ve been to Washington DC now twice lobbying correct yes I went in September of last year and I just got back um in late June of this year again what we were there fighting for was the wfpa the Wild and firefighter paycheck to prot protection act um in 2021 president in the bipartisan

 

14:14
infrastructure Bill there was a $20,000 or 50% pay increase for all federal Wild Man firefighters whichever was less um and that ran out in September uh or um I guess October 1st of 2023 um and we have so far been included in CRS um the continuing resolutions to maintain That Base rate so right now my family personally is getting about $750 extra per paycheck okay um from that bipartisan money and now the the CRS the wildland firefighter pay paych protection paycheck protection act would um maintain some sort of stability it would

 

15:00
increase pay across the board and it would make it permanent as it stands if we do not find a permanent increase um all federal wild and firefighters are going to be losing that 50% or $220,000 at the end of this fiscal year whoa that’s that’s a hit unfortunately for my family that like that’s our entire mortgage that was not um that was not enough money that we’re out buying like fancy things or we’re doing really well that’s just enough to keep us afloat that’s our mortgage

 

15:31
goodness so if that goes away I there there may not be another option for my family and for many families my organization recently did a survey and 64% of federal Wildland firefighters are saying that they are considering leaving if a permanent fix is not met my goodness and that that’s that’s a that’s a national security risk quite honestly again we don’t like fire is scary enough but they don’t just respond to fires they respond to all natural disasters and all um all disasters really they’re

 

16:07
a nationwide um all Disaster Response so we’re looking at losing 64% of that Workforce if permanent solution is not and we’re looking at eot terrorists possibly out there that are going to be just going off lighting fires all over the place because they know where we’re shy and weak I mean that’s always a possibility there’s arsonists every year there was just a really large fire um series of fires in riodoso New Mexico which burned 1500 structures oh no and it was quite catastrophic and it

 

16:41
it was discovered that several of those fires were were arsonists unfortunately my goodness an FBI investigation ongoing for that and I don’t know that it’s necessarily connected to the low Staffing or not but um it definitely hinders our ability to respond for sure and I don’t know if our listeners know that like on the off seon Wildland firefighters um do like control burns and they also do fire breaks or fire barriers one thing that was really obvious to me um you know we had this

 

17:16
catastrophic fire Lina fire which was absolutely catastrophic I was in Lina that day um but Wildland firefighters if we had a really strong uh organization here we have a lot of really wonderful firefighters they do firefighting we don’t have a lot of um folks here on island or anywhere on the islands that are doing the the barriers you know you were talking about using roads as barriers but you know Wildland firefighters go out and they make sure the underbrush is cut down on off Seasons they make sure that they can

 

17:51
protect boundaries between like the national parks and the BLM and the and the B properties so that the fires aren’t taking out lots of structures I I I don’t think people realize it if being a firefighter Wildland fire it’s not just going out and fighting a fire it’s it’s a lot of precautions isn’t it yeah for sure my husband in the offseason they’ll do prescribed burning they go out and they clear underbrush they cut um they thin out they do thinning um they do you know just they don’t the

 

18:26
there is a seasonal Workforce that is mainly just for um you know fighting these fires but then there’s the the people that stay on your round as well um and that number is increasing they’ve increase the number of permanent employees to try to mitigate that issue to try to um allow for more offseason prescribe burning and thinning and other projects along that line they’ve also stood up more fuels Crews which fuels Crews um do a lot of of that type of work what are what is a fuel crew going to go into that one so a

 

19:00
fuel’s crew would be like a 10 or 20 person hand crew which a hand crew is when you think of like a hot shot Crew That’s a hand crew they are all out there they digging line they have all their tools they’re they’re their they’re they just digging hand line essentially okay um so fuel Crews go in and they do a lot of the thinning and um prescribe burning and things like that but the problem is that the forest service is offering these positions and they’re standing up these new Crews and

 

19:29
unfortunately they’re just not getting filled because they don’t they’re not getting filled wow they’re not able to gosh and ALS I’ll speak like anecdotally but I’ve definitely seen this I don’t have statistics on this but I’ve definitely seen it firsthand that like 10 years ago when I was first with my husband it was incredibly competitive to get a wild and firefighting job it was seen as like a very like top-of-the-line you know job you everyone wanted to do it and you had to work really hard to

 

19:58
work your way into it and now they’re kind of just scrambling to find the bare minimum of people within 10 years wow so that I mean this is just a recipe for disaster and and we’ve definitely seen disaster here on Mai in the worst way we had a tragic loss of life absolutely and we’ve lost like the I call it the Christmas tree on on island it’s where everybody went and gathered and it was a happy place in Lina but our barriers you know that the Wildland firefighters are maintaining or keeping

 

20:38
people all over the United States safe and to relate it also to like the L fire which was absolutely devastating I did meet with um Jill taka’s staff um in September so a few months after and she is supportive of our Wildland firefighters um but there’s also the aspect that wild then firefighters are um the FEMA Workforce so um I know there was a lot of issues with FEMA not getting in there quick enough and and helping the people affected with the Lina fires and um I can’t say for sure that it was the low

 

21:17
Staffing but that that will start to definitely take an impact um because if there’s no one to staff FEMA which is largely made up of wild and firefighter Staffing um FEMA has a very small work Force itself and they pull from other agencies when a natural disaster occurs to staff the response to that so it’s wild and firefighters National Guard other other workforces like that and when we lose an entire Workforce um that’s really putting everyone at risk well so to be competitive I mean you’re

 

21:51
asking someone to go out and put their life on the line or I mean just like every firefighter I mean structural Wildland every that that should be like a high priority for our country to step up and make sure that position is filled by the best people and the strongest people because you just can’t just get off your couch after sitting on the couch for a couple years and go out and run out and fight a Wildland fire now can you uh no it’s it’s definitely um there’s a lot of physical toll they have

 

22:23
to pass an arduous pack test which is a I think it’s 4 minutes with three miles and 45 minutes with 45 pounds on your back and you’re not allowed to run so that’s like the Bas line but then most Crews have like a much higher Baseline than that um and they’re out there so the way that it works is they get two week assignments so if a fire pops up especially a large fire they’re sent out um on two we assignments where they’re on that fire 247 they’re sleeping on the ground they

 

22:55
only get paid for 16 hours a day of that um they’re sleeping hours are not paid even if they’re sleeping in the ash on the ground next to the fire that’s not being paid they’re being paid $16 an hour or sorry for 16 hours a day not $16 an hour although some of them do make that wage okay to do that when they’re on a fire they’re eating MREs occasionally they’ll have on on much larger instance they’ll have like Caterers come in and feed them um but they’re away from home for two to four

 

23:26
weeks at a time um I that’s got to be difficult 500 to 1,000 hours of overtime in a six-month period on Fires um wow my husband already this year has about 525 hours of overtime um and that’s expected to reach probably close to a thousand by the end of Fire season means away from your family we have two young children he doesn’t get to see them frequently for six months a year and a huge toll and that that’s kind of the stock and standard isn’t it you have in your organization the fired up Partners you

 

24:07
have lots of husbands and wives of firefighters that are meeking by to take care of our lands when we’re not stepping up to take care of the country is not stepping up to take care of you I mean this story can’t be new it’s it’s not it’s it is frust rating it’s something I I said this when I was meeting with with our Congress members um I had I was in DC um a few weeks ago for a week and I had over 50 meetings um between me another fired up partner um another my my vice president was there

 

24:45
with me and we had so many meetings and the consensus is like they support us but they won’t support us on paper um what it is the bill that wa wait wait wait wait wait wait wait they’ll support you like Pat you on the back and send you out the door but say you know you know oh my Lord J know so there’s so with the wfpp I will say I’ll say this now to you that there is a republican um Mike Simpson who put um word for word our bill that we’re asking for the wildland firefighter pay protection act

 

25:20
pay pay paycheck protection act into the Appropriations bill which is essentially the country’s budget to try to get it passed that way um but we’ve been fighting for the wfpa for nearly two years um it is completely bipartisan it’s 50-50 co-sponsor support wonderful then this should be should be a noin of yeah that’s awesome but it’s unfortunately being held up in a singular committee right now which is the committee of Natural Resources who who who chairs that committee Janelle

 

25:52
it’s Bruce Westerman out of Arkansas Bruce Westerman Congressman Bruce Westerman we need to get letters going to him huh definitely him there’s also unfortunately one of the main um holdups in our bill has been congressman lamalfa from Northern California he has paradised California which very similar to L years burned to the ground unfortunately devastating fire right um he introduced a competing bill against the wfpa and because of that it’s kind of slowed down support for the wfpa

 

26:29
his bill um unfortunately it only offers a pay fix for two years it’s not permanent and um the way that the way that the pay fix we have now has been rolled out is as a bonus so we are getting that $750 a paycheck but it doesn’t apply to their overtime it doesn’t reply apply to um benefits retirement any of that and what we’re asking for is for a pay fix that will apply to that over time um because most of their money is made in overtime um how many federal employees are out there

 

27:05
right now that would go yeah I’m going to stay at this job I don’t have a future I don’t know most federal employees know that they’re going to get a cola raise or cost of living raise they know what their salary is going to be I mean and they’re not doing anything frightening you know they’re just pushing paper my goodness this this needs to change I will say it was it was definitely very terrifying like for us the that $750 was expected to run out on October 1st okay fortunately we were

 

27:36
included in the CRS up till now but at the end of every CR which was Thanksgiving close to Christmas right after New Year’s we didn’t know if we would be missing that paycheck wow or that off of our paycheck and that was incredibly stressful for my family and all Wildman families to go be going into the holidays not knowing what our paychecks are going to be how can they do this to you it seems it’s it’s very frustrating we’re very frustrated there’s I mean there is a mass Exodus I know for a fact

 

28:07
in California that there was I think over 50 um resignations in one week from one Forest wow um and and the problem is that we’re we’re losing the midlevel people that are like my family that have you know 10 15 20 years in um that are training the ones on the bottom that are highly experienced we’ve paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to train them up till where they are right now and then they’re jumping ship and going over to a state agency or a private contractor and taking all of

 

28:42
that training with them and going and making double the money wow so is there is there is wow so how can there be consistency on the fire line when you’ve got all these different organizations you got FEMA you’ve got you know contractors and such that’s got to be very confusing for firefighters out there with so many different agencies involved um FEMA doesn’t have much of an impact until you know unfortunately a community were to burn down or something but I okay um but yeah I I would think I think that

 

29:22
the main concern right now is that there’s just there’s just not enough people um the contractors are fine but that does add another layer to the the management of a fire um I’ll say for the first time in 10 years with my husband it was the first year that I’m actually afraid for him because there’s not enough people to look out for him right now wow there’s just not he um he he’s supposed to be number two on his crew essentially as far as seniority but there’s not a number one so he is

 

29:53
running a crew um that’s not supposed to be his position he also doesn’t have the next person above that person in the line of command they’re missing two people above him um none of the crews on his district right now have a what what we call Captain which is the person supposed to run the crew what um we don’t so somebody’s going to get hurt this is not good we need to get going on this goodness yeah it’s definitely a concern as far as safety I think as partners of Wildland firefighters and

 

30:26
spouses that’s our main concern concern right now is that it’s it’s becoming unsafe for us and our main concern is that um we get to have our loved ones come home and that is becoming a concerning issue for sure that they’re not going to because it’s just not as safe well if you’ve got multiple multiple groups out there trained differently from contract agencies to Forest Service to Forest State Forest how I that’s got to be a unified thing when you fight a fire everybody needs to know

 

31:00
where everyone’s at I mean that’s it seems like we’re we’re we’re dancing with the devil as far as like Paradise California which was a horrible tragedy Lina was a horrible tragedy and even um Phoenix Oregon town in Oregon a few years ago Wildland fire got out of control and we lost half of a small town in Oregon I mean what’s it going to take to know what do what what what do we need to do um I wish I knew right now you can call your congressmen you can call your congresswomen um senators and ask them

 

31:34
to co-sponsor our bill and to support it in Appropriations um support it remaining in Appropriations as it is I don’t see it coming out of committee where it stands right now unfortunately so Appropriations is kind of where we’re looking at um hopefully getting it ped unfortunately that will not happen until after um this fire season is over so we’re going to be going into the holidays most likely still not knowing oh my Lord where our paychecks are coming from well how what kind of money

 

32:05
are we talking about here Appropriations they usually throw a dollar figure in those so what yeah so the wfpa and this is again it’s a text for text in Appropriations so um it’s a we’re asking for it’s a $2.2 billion dollar over five years it’s rated as a debt neutral Bill okay so debt neutral debt neutral talk about that Janelle what’s debt neutral it just means that we’re not it’s it spends money but it’s not actually going to be taking any money away from the

 

32:33
budget because of how much it would potentially save I I believe I I’m not necessarily positive that’s exactly um the way they calculate that it’s a it’s kind of a weird um equation that they use as as the government well all government all government equations are pretty weird I I’ll that one yes but it’s it’s essentially that it’s not because with that money we’ll be able to retain more employees so we’re not going to be spending all of that extra money on

 

33:00
contractors and Cooperators um that it’s it’s rated debt neutral and again it’s 2.2 billion doll which I know sounds like it’s a it is a lot of money but in Congressional dollars it’s it’s a drop in the bucket it’s really um I mean one one outof control fire can cost hundreds of millions of dollars exactly and what we’re what what not passing this means is that we’re going to have more catastrophic fires it does does and how much of that two billion over five years is actually going to

 

33:33
pay for the salaries or is that part of that it’s all for the salary socent what we’re what we’re asking for the entire bill you can find it on our website you can also find it at uh Grassroots wildf firefighters. comom grassroot firefighter.com Grassroots Wildman firefighters. Wildman fighters.com okay good good you need to get those out there they’ll have the they have uh links to the full text of the bill it’s um if you can also look it up it’s HR 5169 repeat that again repeat yes it’s

 

34:07
HR 5169 and if you just Google that then it’ll pop up um and it’s also s 2272 so you can Google that the just s 2272 and it’ll pop up under that too wonderful what we’re asking for is for in that bill what we’re asking for is a base pay increase so that they’ll get paid a bit more the way that it works is a cascading scale so the people at the very top the GS 15s uh uh and Below will make a smaller um increase so the ones that are already getting paid pretty well are gonna not

 

34:45
get that $20,000 that we’re getting now okay but they um but it then it goes up as you go down in Gs levels um I see so so we can so they can hold on to the good people that they get right right excellent okay so that’s how and then we’re also in that bill we’re also asking for firefighters to be paid Hazard pay which is a um 25% pay increase when they’re on a Wild Man incident what they’re not getting Hazard pay seriously they’re they are they are getting Hazard pay on wild then

 

35:19
incidents what we’re asking for is for hazard pay on prescribed burn incidents well it’s still dangerous you got fire going on oh my Lord exctly and as it stands um for that you know as we were talking earlier the treatment the prescribed burning that’s really important to make sure that these fires don’t get out of hand right um they are not currently paid Hazard pay on that oh Lord so so we’re asking for that there’s still the smoke exposure there’s still the um you know the risk of a tree

 

35:48
falling on you and there’s still all the things I mean there’s still out there with chain saws and all kinds of Power Tools you know and they’re not right oh my Lord how and then also covers an overnight pay rate which is much less than their base pay rate just to pay them a little bit of money to be sleeping on the ground away from their families okay 30es at a time got it got it so they’ll be paid essentially 24 hours a day but that overtime sleeping rate will be much less than their base rate oh yeah um but

 

36:25
it’ll still give a bit of a boost right uh to their pay and and give an incentive for them being away from their families and Janelle you you I had read something on one of your one of your sites or something like that that some of these these stations that are way out in the middle of nowhere actually have some federal housing that’s almost rattin fested and falling down that they have for their volunteer or not for their volunteers but for their Wildland Fighters did can you touch on that one

 

36:55
oh yeah so for all federal employees so unfortunately first of all I’d like to say that my my organization did a survey recently and 86% of all federal Wildman firefighters either are themselves or know someone who is homeless as a direct result of their job oh my gosh so here we right here we are right back in the homeless issue and and the fundal government’s creating it oh Lord keep I’m sorry jelle I’m sorry just horrible no it’s okay um it’s definitely frustrating and many

 

37:28
places there is no government housing offered at all um and so or the government housing that is offered is way too expensive for them or it’s rat or mold infested or whatever so there are um lots lots and lots of Wildland firefighters and other federal employees as well um that are sleeping in their vehicles it’s a it’s an endemic it’s a you know definitely endemic to Wildland fire because a lot of their Workforce is seasonal so they’re not going to be able to rent somewhere for 6 months when

 

38:00
they’re hardly ever there for you know several thousand dollars a month so they’re sleeping in their cars they’re sleeping in Parks they’re sleeping um under bridges they can’t sleep on Forest Service land for more than 14 days wa wait what what what what timeout so so they can’t can’t they can’t put up a tent like somewhere on Forest Service land while they’re Wildland firefighting oh my goodness I me they can but so the issue is that there is a 14-day limit

 

38:29
for any campsite on a forest service land okay so um they can’t like have a permanent camp set up for the summer you know so they’re having to move and then also like they go out on these two or three week assignments so they would have to pack up their whole camp and then come home after working you know 14 or 21 days straight to make a camp essentially um so what you’re talking about this just really opens up the door to our homeless problem we have we have people that are out here protecting our

 

39:01
wildlands in our boundaries and we’re not even affording them a place to sleep oh gez this has got to be fixed soon I can like kind of give a quick overview of how um well I I’ll start with this and say that the forest service specifically not DOI agencies DOI agencies cover the BLM Bureau of Land Management Bia Bureau of Indian Affairs national parks service um fish and wildlife service um they did not do this they don’t have the authority to do this through OPM but the forest service did

 

39:36
just award retroactive to March 1st all federal employees a 50% um reimbursement on their housing so that’s a huge win for us that happened while I was in DC wow that’s huge but again that’s only US Forest Service that’s not Park Service which is what like Haka would be right um and so what it is is the way that they calculate government housing is it’s based on an average rent in the closest municipality so somewhere like Haka they would base it maybe on keii if there is a housing up at Haka then they would

 

40:13
basally on the average rent for uh you know whatever if they have like let’s say they have apartments up on holak I don’t know that this isal um let’s say that they did they would base it on average R and keii okay so that drives up the cost because there’s a lot of these men and women that are working in places that are like Resort towns um and they’re B Hawai is a resort State yeah exactly and they’re basing the federal um rent off of what they’re making um what what the a what the average rent

 

40:52
in the closest town would be that also affects places like us where we’re extremely Rural and so the clo we are an hour from any town and um the closest town is what our rent is based on but for us that doesn’t seem to make sense because um that’s that’s an expensive that’s there the rent at the the housing that is offered for the forest service where we live is more than my mortgage and they have three bedroom one B kind of dilapidated housing and I have a four bedroom two-b house on 3 acres and my

 

41:29
mortgage is less than what they’re charging the people to stay in the dilapidated forest service hous because of how it’s oh so they’re they’re they’re like they’re like making money off the firefighters they’re not giving them a safe place to stay because you kind of have your stuff locked up when you when you’re out gone for two or three weeks you come back and all your stuff’s been disappeared we are asking so much of these Wildland firefighters and their families and yet we’re not paying them

 

42:02
Equitable wages we’re not giving them differential when they are in the line of fire which being in the line of fire out on a Wildland fire is it’s a frightening thing and it’s a very and it’s not something it’s not like you get in the ocean with a bunch of sharks unless you kind of have a clue what you’re doing it’s kind of like you’re not going to go up to a fire line unless you have the skills the tools and the knowledge to do it safely and every time we put these people men and women

 

42:33
well trained Into the Wilderness without all the tools they need and all the tools they need is not just a truck of water it’s a running truck it’s a safe place to go after the fire it’s it’s taking care of their family so that that stress level stays calm and and and they’re not struggling for grow trees they’re not having to worry about driving 200 miles to a doctor’s appointment I mean we’re asking tons of our firefighters across the country I mean structural firefighters

 

43:09
they have a family they have a really strong union and that should be the model for all firefighters everywhere Wildland or structural because it’s it’s a lifestyle it’s a it’s a family it’s an inum and we need to take care of these folks so what’s the next step in this General if you if we can get this next if we can get this bill passed through the Senate and the house will that give our country a little bit more stability for these Wildland firefighters I think it’ll help there’s

 

43:44
a lot more that needs to be done there’s the issue of mental health um wild and firefighters suffer a suicide rate that’s higher than the military right now wow um and that’s a huge issue we need to combat that I think pay will help with that if you can’t pay your bills then you feel pretty helpless especially if you have a family and that’s a huge issue for sure um there’s substance abuse as there is in you know in any military or police force there’s um things that we need to tackle along

 

44:12
with that there’s housing so the payix is really the first Band-Aid to stop the bleed and then we’re going to be trying to um just just trying to build on that and try to be we’re going to be trying to just be recognized as as what they are which is a federal first responder they are federal First Responders and right now on paper this is another very interesting issue they are not listed as wild B firefighters on paper they are just as forestry technicians so um this is kind of where

 

44:46
like I I feel that like kind of political gaslighting comes in um the forest service and other agents you know they only refer to them as firefighters when they die and there are heroes then but they do not treat us as those Heroes while they’re living and while they’re Lord fighting these fires so on paper they are the same as any other you know federal employee they’re just a a forestry technician that falls under you know ranges forestry technicians um other you know there’s other other

 

45:18
people that fall under that same category of forestry technician um so that’s that’s a huge thing that we’re we’re trying to we’re trying to fix that was included in the bipartisan infrastructure bill that we we should have our own classification and on paper we’re asking them to be called firefighters essentially because right now they are not how how this this is a no-brainer to me I I I just it it you know every time I dive deeply into any Nuance of our government and how they take care of the

 

45:53
people that are actually doing the business of the government this is actually the business of the government it’s not meddling in anybody it’s taking care of our national parks our Wildland and and we’re just like oh my gosh okay well hearing the feedback from some of our friends some of our quote friends that are holding the bill up they’re looking at like Timber why are we not logging this more heavily what would that fix the issue why are we not um you know get any more logging

 

46:23
contracts just clearcut log all of it essentially or privatize all of it um interesting oh so there we go now this this is why there’s the hold up okay so the thing with that is that there’s certain areas in the country where there are a lot of lobbyists that are are discouraging Lobby or logging but that’s not the case in um most of the country there’s there’s logging um like certificates or I’m not sure exactly what they’re called but like loging certificates Grant rewards

 

46:56
yeah yeah you can right but there there’s hundreds that go unfilled every year because it’s just not prime Timber and so they’re just not it wouldn’t make Financial sense for them to be filled or for a logging agency to go and in log that land so to be speaking about that is only to be speaking to one area of the country in crime um right the million dollar the million dollar an acre fires country where you lose a million dollars of though to to speak like a little bit to the science of it

 

47:24
clear-cut logging doesn’t stop fires it might help a little bit but they leave behind the they they only take the high dollar Timber they’re not they’re they’re leaving behind slash piles they’re leaving behind the underbrush which carries fires it doesn’t a fire doesn’t necessarily just stop because it got logged there no they they used to they used to burn those didn’t they didn’t they used to burn after you they clearcut they would burn it and replant I know there’s a replanting is that part

 

47:49
of what the I’m I’m honestly I can’t speak to that I’m not sure um we’re not in a high we’ve never lived in like a high logging area so I don’t have personal experience with that but um I I don’t think you would meet very many wild then firefighters are completely opposed to logging we’re fine with that but the issue is that they’re a national resource they have to go everywhere and there’s a lot of places where that’s not possible we can’t just log it all no um

 

48:15
that that would be horrible exactly and and you can’t prioritize it all either or else you can’t go campaign for free you can’t the national PL for free you can’t can’t go hunting you can’t go fishing cuz you’re got across somebody’s line so if if we’re talking about Timber sales I know in Oregon uh when I was a younger man that um the schools on the Oregon coast and almost all the way to Portland on the Coast Range the timber sales they had a a percentage of Timber

 

48:47
sales that funded all of public education for almost 50 60 years so there’s got to be something in some of these Timber sales that could be earmarked for Wildland firefighters I mean that’s an Avenue to look at for sure okay I don’t I I can’t speak to the the logging as much I don’t I just don’t know as much about it okay um I do know that that’s a lot of the holdup on on on that side is just that we need to be you know managing better but the issue with managing better is

 

49:24
you need the staff to manage right and we don’t have the staff to manage because they’re not being paid and they’re not there’s no benefit to being to go you know cut and and thin forests and manage forests better for 20 bucks an hour no you could go work actually anywhere else for 20 an hour and come home to your family at night yeah you can wash dishes here for that and then get tips on top of that yeah yeah so there’s just and and I see all the time like in my group we have a support group

 

49:55
that’s just for spouses partners and I see all the time people posting like screenshots of like a gas station that’s advertising a higher based salary than their husbands are making and they like I haven’t seen my husband in 25 days and he could come work at this gas station and make this much money um yeah it used to be not that long ago that when you became a a forestry Tech or a wildland firefighter you had an incredible retirement plan you had a wonderful Health Plan I mean they made it very

 

50:30
incentious to go do these kind of jobs I mean being a wildland firefighter for the National Park Service used to be one of sought after sought after job and now they now they can’t even fill these positions you’re saying yeah there there’s definitely there’s a huge gap in in filling these positions there’s um I believe in California there’s over a hundred Crews that are just or engines that are just not staffed at all right now because they don’t have the Staffing oh for them um okay and they’ve had to

 

51:05
cut resources in a lot of areas just because there’s no staff to fill them the the crew that my husband got hired where we live to to work on was stood down for two or what a year over a year um because they just didn’t have the staff to fill it and he had to take on a different role during that time okay so we are we’re losing Crews we’re losing um Incident Management teams which is when there’s a huge fire an incident management team which is staffed with all very highly qualified people that

 

51:37
come in and kind of manage all of that um we’re losing those there’s there’s no one to to staff them there’s no one that’s wanting to staff them um so we’re losing instant management teams um oh yeah it’s a dire situation when I say it’s a dire situation that’s not it’s not hyperbole it’s a dire situation there’s going to be land and lives and homes lost that is inevitable at this point well I think we we’re seeing it all over the country today we’re seeing

 

52:09
California constantly losing homes on On the Border Lands of wildlands so we’re not let’s go back to something you talked about earlier about how their Wildland firefighters on the offseason are making sure that the buyer boundaries are are maintained they’re slashed they’re burned and and that in itself is not something that’s safe to go out and do for Joe Q public to go out and cut a swath of land to make sure that there’s no ladder fuels ladder fuels being fire on the ground that can

 

52:39
go to the air right um okay so those people just aren’t existing or they’re homeless half the year waiting for the Fire season or there’s people who um the the homelessness gets exacerbated because they’ve they’ve been trying to recruit more people or or opening up more positions to be your round to fill those positions but the issue being that before they were homeless for six months a year during Fire season and then they would go live you know somewhere cheaper in the offseason and now they’re

 

53:09
permanent so now they’re permanently homeless oh my gosh it it just just for folks to understand about what it is to be like where Janelle is Janelle and her husband and her family or station it’s Katherine County New Mexico Catherine Catherine County yeah yeah it’s it’s a a population of a thousand people and it has the same square miles as the island of Maui so yeah we have a population of about 4500 oh 4500 now okay yeah in the whole County though and it’s the largest county by land mass in in the state of

 

53:43
New Mexico which is the fifth largest state in the country um I can’t I don’t remember exactly how many square miles it is but it’s huge and um no Walmart no Walmart no Target no not not even Walmart there’s not a single stoplight in our County okay so the so so even if you get hired for a job out there there’s not like apartment complexes there’s not like rentals available and that’s that’s like everywhere that while land firefighters are out there protecting us they don’t

 

54:17
have the basic resources so they’re living in their tents or if they got a trailer they’re living in a trailer I mean we’re relying on these people to keep our country beautiful and to make sure it’s managed correctly on the offseason and to protect it during the Fire season but yet we’re not taking care of them at all not at all they’re definitely they it’s so it’s such an underserved Community a lot of people don’t even know I can speak to this for sure based on my meetings in DC a couple

 

54:47
weeks ago most of our legislators don’t even know that the workforce exists wow they do know that the workforce exists um they have no understanding at all of what we do at all um there was several meetings that it wasn’t me just trying to speak to our bill that we’re asking for it was trying to teach them just like I’m doing in this talking to you teach them what we do and what it that looks like right because they just actually don’t know um and and that’s and that and that goes to um The Way

 

55:20
Washington works the way our government works there there used to be lobbies that would really go and fight for these folks and in the last 20 years instead of lobbyist there’s people that have big money that influence people we and we need and this is what Janelle’s talking about here we have this grassroot starting to educate our lawmakers because we’re sending them to Washington and all of that and they don’t know about the nuances of the people that take care of 90% of all of our federal

 

55:54
lands I 90 plus% of all our federal lands are either protected or or managed on the offseason by these folks it’s it’s a huge a huge and we’re talking about 15,000 did you say 15,000 um employees that are doing this about and it’s supposed to be closer to 30,000 that’s that that that’s something else I read that we’ve lost 15,000 Federal Wildland firefighters we need to get fired up and and that’s the website you you Google fire up and you’re going to find a wildland

 

56:29
firefighter Partners in Pro for Progress because they’re F you’re out there fighting for that and yeah I can give I I know we’re running a little bit close on time now but I can give some plugs there’s definitely ways to get involved um there’s my group fired up um wild B firefighter partners for progress and you can find us at um sites.google.com fired up Partners you can find us at um on Instagram at fired upore wppp all right there’s also um Grassroots wild then firefighters if you

 

57:06
just search Grassroots wild them firefighters their website their Instagram everything will pop up we do also have a lot of Union support from the national Federation of federal employees um they’re doing a great job they were out there with us in DC they had a great showing um and they’re they’re working really hard for us for sure um but yeah we just what we’re what we really need is more public support we need more of the public to be fired up on this issue exactly we need them to

 

57:36
hear us we need them to be calling not just us calling um and begging for this essentially we just we need we need more buyin from the public to understand just how dire the situation is and to encourage Congress to change it and and the unique part here for the folks that are in our listening audience right here on on Maui and it we go out over YouTube and we go out over tens of thousands of folks um on the internet but Maui faced a devastating fire which we lost several thousand homes this is going to start

 

58:12
repeating itself across the country if we’re not taking care of our Wildland firefighters and our border zones tals when we get crazy wins are going to get overrun it’s it’s it’s it’s just a tragedy waiting to happen we’ve seen it firsthand here we’ve had horrible loss of life and I’m afraid it’s going to happen again and we’re not if it is going to happen again and it’s going to happen much more frequently yeah we we’ve got to handle it so fired up fired up Wildland firefighters and

 

58:45
partners just Google that get involved they they need your help financially uh you can donate there um they’re very interactive website if you have questions for them um they always get back they’re really good about that we’re very quick um Instagram will respond to you on there if you prefer to social media you can send us an email info@ fired up partners.org oh excellent you so you are on in you are on Instagram Facebook all of those yep on Instagram Facebook just look up fired up

 

59:18
federal Wildland firefighters and we’ll pop up there again look up Grassroots they’re another great organization that supports us and and we’re aming and our amazing um again National Federation of federal employees niy Wildland fire if you look up that they’re on all the socials um fighting the same fight as us and yeah we just we just need some more public buy and and we need um more people to kind of care about us to get Congress to care about us all right well thank you very much Janelle Valentine

 

59:49
live here on Maui talk radio it’s time to say good night and hope to see you all next week week or see you online Aloha from coach Scott [Music]
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