Private Wildland Fire Contractors Have Nearly 14,000 Firefighters on the Fireline as Northwest Wildfires Rage

Private Wildland Fire Contractors Have Nearly 14,000 Firefighters on the Fireline as Northwest Wildfires Rage

NWSA’s 367 member companies, operating in 27 states, are supplying crews, heavy equipment and full-service camp support as the nation holds at Preparedness Level 5.

As wildfires burn across Oregon, Washington and the broader Northwest during one of the most severe fire seasons in years, the National Wildfire Suppression Association (NWSA) is highlighting a number that often gets lost in daily fire coverage: member companies have thousands of resources and roughly 14,000 professional private-sector personnel deployed on active incidents nationwide, with more standing ready as new orders come in.

The federal government’s National Preparedness Level remains at PL 5, the highest classification, reflecting how heavily firefighting resources are committed nationwide. More than 1.5 million acres have burned in Oregon this season alone, and total acreage burned nationally has surpassed 4.5 million.

NWSA represents 367 member companies across 27 states that operate under federal and state agreements as standards-driven surge capacity, mobilizing on an as-needed basis to support the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and state and local fire agencies.

Oregon Department of Forestry would like to thank the professional contracting community for their readiness, dedication, and professionalism in always being ready for the call to action in support of the complete and coordinated wildfire protections system in Oregon. – Tim Holschbach, Deputy Chief – Policy & Planning, Protection from Fire Division, Oregon Department of Forestry

“Our member companies are doing what this industry has done for more than 40 years — showing up, standing ready, and getting to work the moment they’re called,” said NWSA Executive Director Debbie Miley. “Right now, that means thousands of types of equipment and firefighters on the ground across the Northwest and beyond, with more available the minute agencies need them.”

A Full Range of Fireline and Camp Support

NWSA member companies are providing hand crews, fallers, water handling resources, heavy equipment and other specialized personnel on the fire line. Members are also supplying the camp infrastructure that keeps large incidents running, including camp operations and tenting, catering, first aid response, mobile showers, mobile laundry, mobile toilets,  mobile handwashing stations, and medical responders.

This is how public-private wildfire response has worked for more than four decades: NWSA member companies meet the same National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) training and performance standards as their agency counterparts, integrate into the same dispatch and incident command systems, and are paid only when mobilized — providing surge capacity without adding to year-round federal payroll.

Where Private Contractors Fit In

When a fire outpaces the crews, equipment or camp capacity an agency has on hand, incident commanders and interagency dispatch centers order additional resources through the same systems used to move any federal or state asset. NWSA member companies fill those orders as pre-qualified surge capacity, reporting through the same chain of command, following the same safety and training standards, and standing down once the need has passed. Agency leadership sets strategy and manages the incident throughout.

That structure is the basis of NWSA’s core message: partnership, not replacement. Federal and state agencies remain the backbone of the nation’s wildfire response; private contractors are the mechanism that lets that response scale up during peak demand, then scale back down without carrying year-round cost.

As fire activity intensifies heading into peak season, NWSA continues to work alongside federal and state agencies to keep qualified private-sector resources ready where they’re needed — closing capacity gaps, protecting communities, and supporting the men and women on the fire line.