A Comparison of the Costs of Forest Service and Contract Fire Crews in the Pacific Northwest

Rising wildfire suppression expetizditures on public land in the United States have led to increased scrutiny of wildfifne managemefzt practices. One area that has received particular attention is the Forest Service's increasing reliance on contract fire crews. Because a contract crew rate includes several costs that are not included in the wage costs of a Forest Service crew, it is difsicult to determine if this increasing reliance on contract fire crews increases or decreases wildfire suppression costs. The full cost of 33 Forest Service type IIfire crews dispatched during the 2003fire season from five national forests in Oregorz and Washington are estimated and cornpared with the cost of contract crews dispatched in the same region. Results suggest that if sufsicient work is available to keep a Forest Service crew productively employed throughout afire season, then the daily cost of a Forest Service type 11 crew is lower than the daily cost of a contract crew. West. J. Appl. For. 20(4):233-239.