This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, the 988 hotline is available 24/7 by phone, text message, online chat, or video phone.
Ted McClanahan, a seasoned 24-year West Yellowstone smokejumper, faced two significant injuries during his career.
The most severe occurred during a jump into Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness at the Idaho-Montana border, where a sudden air gust caused him to fall, tearing the quadriceps tendon from his kneecap. Marooned on a mountainside, colleagues assisted him to a clearing for helicopter rescue. Despite a challenging recovery, McClanahan returned to fire jumping the next season, never missing a fire season over two decades.
McClanahan acknowledges his good fortune as his peers endured career-ending injuries. “It’s an emotional thing,” the U.S. Forest Service veteran, now 59, comments. “If you get hurt, it makes you rethink everything.”
Smokejumpers, elite wildland firefighters who parachute into remote fires, face inherent risks with each jump. Despite the perils, the most difficult aspect for McClanahan was the time away from home. “It’s that homesick feeling,” he shares. “No matter how positive or lucky you are, it’s always present.”
Public awareness is rising about the unique challenges wildland firefighters face. These include injuries, lack of worker’s compensation, long hours, housing difficulties, and low pay forcing extensive overtime.
Beyond physical and structural challenges, a mental health crisis is emerging within wildland firefighting, exacerbated by worsening wildfire conditions and federal workforce cuts.
McClanahan cherished his work but observed depression, substance abuse, and PTSD throughout the community. “Some people wanted nothing else,” he says. “They enjoyed the community but didn’t anticipate the cost.”
Work Hard, Play Hard
The life of wildland firefighters revolves around seasonal cycles.
In spring, smokejumpers and hotshots along with helitack and Type 2 handcrews begin training. Fire seasons, spanning May to September, entail 14- to 16-hour shifts over two weeks with brief breaks. To earn a decent living, substantial overtime is common; McClanahan logged over 1,000 overtime hours some seasons.
Crews clear vegetation and construct firebreaks, performing perilous tasks during their shifts. Days oscillate between arduous work and waiting for fire conditions to escalate.
At season’s end, temporary employees are released, and returnees reapply. The job’s intense, temporary nature attracts young adventurers keen to embrace a “work hard, play hard” lifestyle.
For long-term firefighters, demands amass over time, affecting health and increasing attrition rates among experienced professionals.
Former assistant hotshot superintendent Luke Mayfield notes, young recruits often lack insight into the long-term career implications. “We were never really taught about evolving from being responsible for yourself to leadership,” he reflects. “Then managing family and financial commitments becomes a necessity.”
Mayfield, now 45, reached suicidal thoughts before choosing to leave a profession he loved. “Fire is addicting,” he admits. “Working on hotshot crews was… the most gratifying job, until it made me want to shoot myself.”
Mayfield, president of Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, advocates for better pay and healthcare for firefighters. He felt normal only during fire seasons, battling deep offseason depression in silence.
The fire community, though close-knit, often believes issues should be self-managed. Fear of appearing weak prevents many from seeking help, leading to substance use or silent suffering.
“You saw PTSD effects, divorces, drinking…” Mayfield recounts. “You just work, work, work, and then play, play, play, until you’re broken.”
A Cycle of Loneliness
In 2019, ex-firefighter Patricia O’Brien conducted a study on wildland firefighters for her PhD, involving almost 3,000 respondents.
The research illuminates mental health struggles among wildland firefighters. Depression and anxiety symptoms were two to three times higher than the general population, and probable PTSD was four times higher. Less than half with PTSD symptoms were clinically diagnosed, showing underdetection.
The study also highlighted substance use, noting alcohol as a significant social element, potentially leading to dependency. Over half reported binge drinking monthly, with 22 percent reporting heavy drinking.
Recent findings reveal alarming suicide statistics: 22 percent reported a suicide attempt, and nearly 40 percent experienced current suicidal ideation.
“More wildland firefighters kill themselves than die fighting fire,” remarks former firefighter Luke Santore.
Santore, a 29-year-old research associate at the University of Montana, served as a firefighter for seven years. His mental health was “total shit” while fighting fires, impossible to address until he left.
“It’s an incomprehensibly demanding and challenging job,” he asserts. “It’s extreme in every possible way.”
Santore’s research focused on loneliness, differentiating between social and emotional loneliness among firefighters. His survey revealed high emotional loneliness midseason, expected to reverse in the offseason, suggesting a “cycle of loneliness” affecting individuals.
“Your at-home relationships,” he says, “are eternally disrupted. It’s half the year you functionally don’t exist.”
Wake-Up Call
This separation often prompts departures, even when firefighters love their work. Former hotshot Pete Dutchick left after nearly two decades for family presence.
While Dutchick didn’t face severe mental health issues, the job’s intensity affected him over time, witnessing suicides and early cancer deaths among peers. “It’s vital to protect each other,” he emphasizes. “It’s about ensuring long, healthy lives.”
Research links wildland firefighting to increased cancer rates, leading to the Firefighter Cancer Registry Reauthorization Act in 2023, offering presumptive cancer coverage based on profession-related diagnoses.
Dutchick, now 45, regularly undergoes cancer screenings. “We do the job because we love it,” he notes, “but the potential health impacts and family effects eventually become clear.”
Advocating through Grassroots’ Comprehensive Health and Wellbeing subcommittee, Dutchick seeks to address intertwined physical and mental health crises in firefighting. Veterans’ stories in Northern California opened his eyes to potential behavioral causes.
Comparing firefighting to military service, he notes strong bonds formed despite limited support after returning home. Grassroots helps bridge support gaps, yet resources often remain underutilized.
Justin Demoss, with a background in exercise science, shifted focus from athletes to first responders, joining the Golden Eagles Hotshot crew to assist elite first responders. “They’re unsung heroes,” he states, “performing incredible feats of endurance.”
Initially teased as “the scientist,” Demoss built strong crew relationships, emphasizing wellness support. “There’s a physiological basis for mental health struggles,” he explains, noting challenges in maintaining nutrition, sleep, and wellness routines.
By season’s end, Demoss shared insights via social media, co-founding Hotshot Wellness to connect firefighters with holistic resources and offer personal development scholarships.
Entering his second season, Demoss aims to foster ongoing dialogue. “It’s tough,” he states, “but navigable with the right tools and education.”
The Future of Fire
Despite improvements, challenges persist. January’s Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act, meant to secure 2021’s temporary pay raise under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, reportedly led to pay cuts.
Most wildland firefighters, federal employees working for the National Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management, face an evolving workforce that impacts their roles. Staffing cuts intensify responsibilities on remaining workers, many battling mental health issues.
Grassroots advocates for a unified National Wildland Fire Service under one agency for improved efficiency and communication. President Trump’s executive order merged federal programs from the Department of the Interior and U.S. Forest Service, with plans to establish a unified service. While potentially beneficial, concerns exist regarding practicality amidst staffing cuts.
Active firefighters, mindful of the political climate, remain cautious. Meanwhile, worsening fires demand attention.
The National Interagency Coordination Center reported 64,897 wildfires in 2024, burning nearly 9 million acres. This year’s fires have already burned 1.3 million acres.
Fire frequency remains stable, but average acreage has surged. The worst fire seasons, coinciding with record warm years, highlight climate change’s impact. As conditions worsen, wildland firefighters become more vital, though a warming world may exacerbate existing mental health challenges.
Dr. Robin Cooper of the Climate Psychiatry Alliance highlights climate change’s mental health impacts. Her involvement with the firefighting community began after personal tragedy linked to mental health.
“They face life-threatening situations,” she explains. “Constant pressures contribute to trauma.”
Cooper’s 2023 report on climate change’s mental health effects on firefighters outlines chronic pain, respiratory issues, and medical problems as depression risk factors. Fire exposure poses additional brain health risks.
“Current wildfires are a toxic mix of chemicals,” Cooper notes. “Different brain impacts arise from various tree species.”
Fire naturally renews ecosystems, but climate change and fire suppression have intensified wildfires. Current strategies often prioritize timber production. Simultaneously, as seasons stretch year-round, the toll on firefighters grows.
“From fire seasons to fire years,” Mayfield observes, “the job now extends eight months and more away from family.”
Without reform matching wildfire growth, experienced firefighter attrition is severing knowledge transfer, raising safety concerns. Worsening fires and fewer professionals could leave firefighting needs unmet, threatening vulnerable communities.
“We’re seeing unprecedented fires,” Mayfield warns. “We don’t know how to respond, lacking the people needed.”
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