Wildland firefighting is a critically important job that takes a toll on firefighters and their families. At the end of the day, nothing is more important than our employees’ health and safety, and that includes mental health. While this fire year wasn’t as intense as last year, it was still long and challenging, and I know many of you are feeling the effects.

We know that work/life balance remains a serious concern for our entire workforce. The length of the fire year, a more complex wildfire environment, and more wildland urban interface to defend, is creating an exhausting cycle for our firefighters. We are committed to providing the tools and resources you need.

Your mental health is a top priority throughout the Agency and the Departments of Agriculture and Interior. For this reason, we are working closely with them to develop long-term solutions around firefighter pay, benefits, mental health, and well-being.

In fiscal year 2023 a new joint Federal Wildland Firefighter Health and Wellbeing Program will bring additional health resources to all federal wildland firefighters in new and important ways.  

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides new authority and funding to “establish programs for permanent, temporary, seasonal, and year-round wildland firefighters to recognize and address mental health needs, including post-traumatic stress disorder care.”  

Our Fire and Aviation Management and Work Environment and Performance Office teams are working with the Department of the Interior’s Office of Wildland Fire to create this new program. Together, we can begin building capacity to assess the scope of the mental health assistance needed for our employees.  

We will implement the program in two phases. Phase one will assess needs and build capacity needed for the program. Phase two will focus on program development, leveraging resources, and filling identified needs. We will provide updates and information as we develop and roll out these resources and reach key milestones. 

The goal of our efforts is to establish programs for permanent, temporary, seasonal, and year-round wildland firefighters to recognize and address mental health needs, including post-traumatic stress disorder care. The Forest Service and DOI are currently working with mental health experts to ensure our employees have the best support available. This includes hiring a new Public Health Service Officer and other mental health providers offering specialty services. 

Work towards these objectives has been underway for several months, and agreements are now in place with Health and Human Services. 

This program will also respond to the growing requests for support from the wildland fire community as we move towards destigmatizing mental health support.  

We are in the initial phases of this important effort. Although it will take time to develop and implement the full Federal Wildland Firefighter Health and Wellbeing Program, this is and will remain a priority to get done.  We are excited for this opportunity to offer additional health and well-being services in the near future.

Editor’s note: While the Forest Service and DOI continue to build the new Federal Wildland Firefighter Health and Wellbeing, agency leadership recognizes the need for behavioral health care. Please see below for programs currently in place to assist employees.

If you currently need care or mental health support, please utilize the available resources through our USDA Forest Service Employee Assistance Program.  

The National Wildfire Coordinating Group Preparedness Guide for Firefighters and their Families and the companion Firefighter and Family Members’ Reintegration Guide are also good resources to support the health and well-being of the wildland fire community.  

For more information on other resources available to you and your family members, please visit: Wildland Firefighter & Responder Resources.