The announcement comes the same day Biden is set to meet with governors and business leaders about the impending wildfire season and how the federal government can assist in the response.

The average salary for federal firefighters is about $55,000, about $2,500 below the typical salary of a local firefighter.

Previously, some federal firefighters have been paid as little as $13 an hour.

President Joe Biden vowed to increase the wages of federal firefighters after discovering what he called “a ridiculously low salary” for the government workers.

“I just realized…that federal firefighters get paid $13 an hour,” Biden said during a meeting with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell last week. “That’s going to end in my administration. That’s a ridiculously low salary to pay federal firefighters.”

The Pacific Northwest is currently seeing record-high heat waves that will likely serve as catalysts to an intense wildfire season. This comes scarcely a year after the west coast experienced some of its worst wildfires in recent history.

Last year, California experienced its worst wildfire season on record and two fires in the state forced more than 8,000 to evacuate earlier this week. 

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