The head of the Idaho Department of Lands is asking lawmakers to boost salaries for those who are hired by the state to battle forest fires. 

In making his pitch to legislative budget writers on Friday, Lands Director George Bacon (pictured at left) says base pay rates for firefighters hired each year by the department are 36 percent lower than wages paid by federal agencies.  He adds that federal pay rates have kept pace with the cost of inflation over the last 15 years, while state salaries have lagged. 

The agency’s scale now pays entry-level wildland firefighters $7.59 an hour, compared with $11.34 paid by federal agencies.  Bacon’s plan would increase state pay to $10.65 an hour.