Senators propose Honoring Fallen Wildland Firefighters Act

U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and John Curtis (R-UT) have introduced the Honoring Fallen Wildland Firefighters Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at increasing death benefits for the families of wildland firefighters.

The legislation proposes raising the current maximum federal death benefit from $10,000 to $100,000, matching the amount provided to families of U.S. military members killed in combat. Beyond increasing the payout, the bill seeks to extend these benefits to privately contracted wildland firefighters as well as those employed by state and local agencies.

Data from the National Interagency Fire Center and the U.S. Forest Service indicates that an average of 17 wildland firefighters die annually while fighting fires on federal land. Recent fatalities include two firefighters in Oregon and four firefighters trapped on the Utah-Colorado border in June.