With the 2026 wildfire season already running well above average and the nation's fire resources stretched across multiple fronts, Congress is advancing legislation aimed at improving pay and working conditions for the wildland firefighters who defend communities from fire. Several bipartisan bills are moving through committee as fire conditions worsen across the West.

Wildland Firefighter Hazard Pay Correction Act

Senator John Curtis (R-UT) has cosponsored the Wildland Firefighter Hazard Pay Correction Act, bipartisan legislation designed to ensure that federal wildland firefighters and smokejumpers receive hazard pay not just for fighting active fires, but for prescribed burns and training jumps as well. Current law creates gaps in hazard pay coverage that the bill's sponsors argue leaves firefighters without compensation for work that is just as dangerous as suppression activities.

The bill has garnered bipartisan support in the Senate and comes as the wildfire season — highlighted by blazes like Utah's Cottonwood Fire surpassing 92,000 acres — demonstrates the continued high demand placed on the nation's fire workforce.

Support Our Firefighters Act

Representatives Don Bacon (R-NE) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) introduced the bipartisan Support Our Firefighters Act, which would waive the overtime pay cap for federal firefighters. Under current law, federal employees including wildland firefighters face caps on overtime earnings that can result in some firefighters effectively working for less than minimum wage during extended deployments.

"Our wildland firefighters put their lives on the line to protect our communities from devastating fires," Rep. Bacon said in announcing the bill. "As a member of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, I'm pleased to co-lead this bipartisan legislation to ensure these heroes receive the compensation they deserve."

Comprehensive Wildfire Budget Discussions

The House Appropriations Subcommittee has also passed a wildfire funding bill that advocates are calling the most comprehensive wildfire budget in years. Provisions under discussion include:

  • Full funding for the U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS), the unified federal agency created to consolidate wildfire management
  • Expanded hazard pay for federal wildland firefighters
  • Multi-year aviation contracts to improve air tanker and helicopter availability
  • Improved employee housing — a critical retention issue in rural fire communities
  • Post-fire restoration funding

Why It Matters for the Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest relies on a mix of federal, state, tribal, and local firefighters each fire season. Pay and retention issues at the federal level directly affect how many experienced crews are available to respond to fires in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Federal hearings on the wildfire crisis have highlighted that the current interagency model — built for a cooler, wetter historical climate — faces increasing stress as fire seasons grow longer and more intense.

Fire advocacy groups have welcomed the legislative activity while urging Congress to move quickly given that the peak of the 2026 fire season is still weeks away.