Wildland firefighters are a critical linchpin in saving lives, protecting communities and serving on the front lines to confront our nation’s wildfire crisis, but few people know that for some positions the standard base pay is low enough to qualify their families for USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid.
Anthony “Monte” Monterroso is a recently returned senior firefighter on the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri. He previously worked for the Forest Service as a firefighter who rappelled out of helicopters into wildfires in Wyoming. But the pay was insufficient to support his growing family.
The temporary firefighter pay supplement in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law made it possible for Monte to return to his “dream job.”
“When I got into wildland firefighting, it was about continuing what I did in the Air Force,” said Monte. “Some of the core values of the Air Force are service before self and excellence in all you do.”
Ten years ago, Monte set his sights on becoming a helicopter rappeller wildland firefighter, dedicating five years of seasonal wildland firefighting work, rigorous training and dogged persistence to reach his goal.
“You don't just go and decide you're going to be a rappeller, because it’s a hard, hard road,” said Monte. “Once I got there, it was like, ‘Man, I'm doing this really cool thing that hardly anybody gets to do.’”
However, the years of relatively low-paying seasonal work, military-deployment-like six-month...
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