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Montana's seasonal firefighters get a pay increase

Inciweb

Montana’s seasonal firefighters are getting a pay bump. State officials hope the roughly 12% immediate raise will help recruit and retain more wildland firefighters.

The $1.70 per hour wage increase brings state firefighters’ minimum base pay to $15.50.

In their announcement Monday, Gov. Greg Gianforte and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation said the raise marks the first pay adjustment of its kind for the state’s seasonal firefighting workforce. The governor’s office said in a statement the pay bump makes Montana competitive with other regional fire protection agencies.

The pay increase takes effect immediately and comes on the heels of a season in which fire scorched almost a million acres in the state by October, and rare December wildfires burned thousands more.

Copyright 2022 Montana Public Radio. To see more, visit Montana Public Radio.

Edward O'Brien is Montana Public Radio's Associate News Director.