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.

Region	4/5 - PP 6	4/19 - PP 7	5/3 - PP 8
Northern (R1)	869	887	943
Rocky Mountain (R2)	542	554	580
Southwestern (R3)	939	1,027	1,067
Intermountain (R4)	1,012	1,030	1,052
Pacific Southwest (R5)	3,111	3,155	3,214
Pacific Northwest (R6)	1,362	1,408	1,429
Southern (R8)	689	683	683
Eastern (R9)	333	337	336
Alaska (R10)	26	35	35
Headquarters	102	107	105
Grand Total	8,985	9,223	9,444

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

As of Date - PP	2022	2023	2024	2025	2025 % of Target (11,300)
April 5 - PP 6	7,209	7,500	8,638	8,985	80%
April 19 - PP 7	7,539	7,892	8,969	9,223	82%
May 3 - PP 8	8,291	8,534	9,732	9,444	84%
May 18 - PP 9	8,986	9,319	10,485
June 15 - PP 11	10,733	10,778	11,192
July 13 - PP 13	10,908	11,150	11,457
July 27 - PP 14	10,965	11,187	11,393

Join Us!

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