Native Americans are only 1 percent of the general population but make up half of the firefighters on the front lines of wildfires, The Washington Post reports.

With hourly wages in the $12-20 range, firefighting is an attractive job for reservation residents. Last year, the Montana Indian Firefighters program out of the Bureau of Indian Affairs paid record $12 million in wages last year to about 2,500 firefighters.

To some, firefighting is a family affair. Francis Cahoon and his three sons, who live on the Flathead Reservation in Montana, said they made $250,000 last year. Cahoon runs a business that leases equipment to fire crews.

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Wildfires Bring Jobs and Money to Reservations (The Washington Post 6/16)
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