Firefighting Workforce
The wildland fire workforce faces numerous recruitment and retention challenges that are often amplified for groups historically underrepresented in the field. These barriers have not only contributed to insufficient workforce capacity, but have helped maintain a mostly homogenous workforce that has been reluctant to adapt its approach to managing wildfire despite the ever increasing need to forge a new relationship with fire. Building a workforce that can meet the needs of modern wildfire management will require comprehensive support for all fire personnel, including investing in inclusive opportunities for career development, addressing mental and physical health inequities, and strengthening workplace culture.
Wildland firefighters are under significant strain, often overworked and underpaid despite the growing need to respond to larger, more destructive fires. Building a more resilient and effective workforce will require improving pathways for diverse applicants, strengthening commitments to health equity, and investing in workplace culture, according to a new Stanford University report.
Stanford experts on wildfire-related policy discuss what Congress can do to build a strong, resilience-focused wildland firefighting force to contend with increasingly catastrophic wildfires.
