Padilla, Sheehy Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Permanently Expand Hazard Pay for Wildland Firefighters

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) introduced the Wildland Firefighter Hazard Pay Correction Act. The bill provides hazard pay to wildland firefighters and smokejumpers for prescribed burns and training jumps, ensuring these brave first responders are recognized with fair compensation. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), and John Curtis (R-Utah) joined Padilla and Sheehy in introducing the bill.

Although firefighters receive hazard pay when responding to active wildfires, they don't receive equivalent compensation when conducting prescribed burns, despite facing similar risks from fire, smoke, and rugged forest conditions. Likewise, hazard pay isn't provided to smokejumpers conducting regular proficiency jumps needed to maintain readiness, even though parachuting into remote areas is inherently hazardous.

In April, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) took a step toward addressing these gaps, issuing a proposed rule that adds prescribed wildland fire duties as a covered activity triggering hazard pay.

"Wildland firefighters put their lives on the line to keep our communities safe," said Senator Padilla. "As wildfires become more intense and frequent, we need to recruit and retain more firefighters to maintain strong crews on the frontlines. Our bill will ensure that our brave wildland firefighters receive hazard pay for a broader range of high-risk work - delivering a long-overdue raise."

"Our wildland firefighters and smokejumpers face incredible risks to defend our communities, and for too long, they have done so without fair compensation," said Senator Sheehy. "With the bulk of fire season on its way, this bipartisan bill ensures we pay these heroes what they deserve as they continue their dangerous work to protect families, communities, and property from the threat of catastrophic wildfire."

"America's wildland firefighters are asked to do some of the toughest and most dangerous work in the country from responding to devastating wildfires to carrying out the prescribed burns and training that help prevent future disasters," said Matt Weiner, co-founder and CEO of Megafire Action. "They deserve to be fairly compensated for those risks. Megafire Action is proud to support this bipartisan legislation because investing in the people who fight these fires is essential to building a more resilient future. We thank Senators Sheehy and Padilla for their leadership on this legislation and look forward to its passage."

"Commercial aerial assets work alongside federal ground crews every day - on wildfires, on prescribed burns, and in support of smokejumper operations," said Paul Petersen, Executive Director, United Aerial Firefighting Association. "Codifying hazard pay for prescribed fire duties into statute gives the workforce - and the agencies - something durable to build on. The bill's extension of hazard pay to smokejumper training jumps is equally important. Maintaining parachute proficiency is not an administrative exercise; it is operational readiness, and it carries real risk. Compensating it accordingly is overdue. We commend Senator Sheehy and Senator Padilla for their leadership on this bill and urge swift action."

"Prescribed burns are a critical tool in active forest management, and smokejumpers play a key role in combating remote wildfires by parachuting into difficult-to-access areas," said Jeremy Craft, President, Western Fire Chiefs Association. "For too long, federal wildland firefighters have shouldered extraordinary risks when engaging in these critical efforts without fair recognition in their paychecks. The Wildland Firefighter Hazard Pay Correction Act ensures that these risks are recognized with fair compensation, and we applaud Senators Sheehy and Padilla for introducing it."

The Wildland Firefighter Hazard Pay Correction Act would codify and build on OPM's efforts by providing hazard pay to wildland firefighters and smokejumpers for prescribed burns and training jumps. This bill will ensure that risks across the full range of wildfire mitigation and response activities are recognized with fair compensation - supporting the first responders that keep our communities safe.

Padilla has consistently pushed to protect our wildland firefighting force. In April, Padilla and Sheehy announced the Support Our Firefighters Act to provide federal wildland firefighters with mandatory rest and recuperation time and ensure they are paid for their work. Last year, Padilla and Sheehy secured a permanent base pay increase for federal wildland firefighters in the FY 2025 Continuing Resolution.

In the immediate aftermath of the devastating Southern California fires last year, Padilla and Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.) introduced the Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act of 2025 to prevent the worst-case scenario for federal wildland firefighters and avert an automatic pay cut, protecting the pay raise secured for these firefighters in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In 2023, Padilla introduced the Wildland Firefighter Fair Pay Act to permanently raise the caps on overtime premium pay for federal wildland firefighters. Also, he and a bipartisan group of Senators urged Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-K.Y.) to avoid mass resignations within the federal wildland firefighter ranks by ensuring the prompt passage of their bipartisan legislation.

Full text of the bill is available here.

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