Federal Firefighters Get 25% Pay Boost for Controlled Wildland Burns
Published Date: 4/14/2026
Proposed Rule
Summary
Federal employees who fight planned wildland fires could soon get a 25% pay boost for their risky work. This change affects General Schedule and Federal Wage System workers directly involved in controlling these fires. Comments on this proposal are open until June 15, 2026, so now’s the time to weigh in!
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
25% Pay Boost for Prescribed Fires
The Office of Personnel Management proposes a 25 percent pay differential (Hazardous Duty Pay for GS employees and Environmental Differential Pay for FWS employees) for Federal workers who are members of a firefighting crew and are on the fireline directly implementing and controlling prescribed wildland fires.
Who Would Be Eligible (Headcount)
OPM expects this change to affect about 10,000 General Schedule (GS) employees and about 2,500 Federal Wage System (FWS) employees at USDA and DOI, and it may also apply in limited situations to employees in other agencies who meet the criteria.
Aims to Fix Pay Parity and Hiring
OPM states the rule is intended to achieve pay parity between employees doing prescribed fireline work and those fighting wildfires, and to help recruit and retain Federal employees who do prescribed fire operations.
Exception for Wildland Fire Series Clarified
The proposal would add a clarification to 5 CFR 550.904 that the rule’s limitation on paying HDP when a hazard is reflected in position classification does not apply to employees in occupational series whose primary duties involve prevention, control, suppression, or management of wildland fire (e.g., GS-0456 wildland firefighters), allowing those employees to receive HDP for prescribed fireline work.
Government Payroll Cost Estimates
USDA estimated the cost of providing the new differentials for prescribed fires would be $20 million for FY2026, and DOI provided an estimate of $12.5 million for FY2026; DOI also described internal estimates of $9.0 million for FY2026 and $9.5 million for FY2027 reflecting different assumptions.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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