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Wildland Firefighting Workforce


Wildland firefighters help save lives and protect communities, infrastructure and private, public and tribal lands from wildfires.

Four wildland firefighters standing side-by-side two men on each side and two women in the middle with one hold a chainsaw upright and the forest in the background.
Our people are our most important asset. Hiring and retaining firefighters is a challenge we take very seriously. (NIFC Photo by Jacob Welsh, Public Information Officer)

2025 Wildland Firefighting Capacity

In 2025, our goal is to have 11,300 wildland firefighters (GS-9 and below) onboard by mid-July before we approach the busiest part of the fire year. As of May 3, 2025, we had 9,444 wildland firefighters onboard nationwide, which is 84% of our goal. Even though this isn't enough capacity to meet the needs of the continuing wildfire crisis, this is the number of firefighters we are able to support with existing infrastructure, funding and other resources. We boost wildland firefighting capacity with other agency staff and administratively determined (AD) emergency workers qualified to support fire management activities.

Hiring Updates

The table below shows the breakdown of firefighters hired this year by Forest Service region (R) for 2025. Numbers change each pay period (PP) as we bring more people onboard and as some firefighters decline job offers or move to other positions.

Region4/5 - PP 64/19 - PP 75/3 - PP 8
Northern (R1)869887943
Rocky Mountain (R2)542554580
Southwestern (R3)9391,0271,067
Intermountain (R4)1,0121,0301,052
Pacific Southwest (R5)3,1113,1553,214
Pacific Northwest (R6)1,3621,4081,429
Southern (R8)689683683
Eastern (R9)333337336
Alaska (R10)263535
Headquarters102107105
Grand Total8,9859,2239,444

The table below shows the total number of wildland firefighters hired by date / pay period for comparison across years.

As of Date - PP20222023202420252025 % of Target (11,300)
April 5 - PP 67,2097,5008,6388,98580%
April 19 - PP 77,5397,8928,9699,22382%
May 3 - PP 88,2918,5349,7329,44484%
May 18 - PP 98,9869,31910,485  
June 15 - PP 1110,73310,77811,192  
July 13 - PP 1310,90811,15011,457  
July 27 - PP 1410,96511,18711,393  

Join Us!

Wonder what it’s like to be a wildland firefighter? Learn more about Careers in Wildland Fire and how to apply.