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Wildland Fire Jobs
Permanent Fire Positions - Fire Hire
Each year the Pacific Northwest, Region 6 uses the centralized Fire Hire process for hiring fire positions. Fire Hire is a Forest Service process that we use to hire the majority of our permanent workforce in fire management positions at the GS-3 through GS-9 grade level.
The Pacific Northwest Region recruits annually for committed, hardworking individuals for fire and fuels management positions on 17 National Forests in Oregon and Washington. The fire and aviation program is very rewarding and requires working safely as part of a team in a variety of specialized positions, including dispatch, engine crews, fuels technicians, handcrews, helitack, hotshot crews, smokejumpers, and prevention. View our Fire Hire Recruitment video to learn more about the various positions in fire.
Seasonal Fire Positions
Seasonal jobs in firefighting include working on a local unit handcrew, on a helitack/helirappeling crew, a Hot Shot Crew, as a smokejumper, or on an engine crew. Check the Seasonal Employment page for announcements and current opportunities.
Remember, these are tough jobs usually performed in primitive, backcountry conditions. In addition to specific requirements for each kind of job, it is essential that firefighters be in top physical condition for this demanding work. Employees and prospective employees must pass the Work Capacity Test annually before working on the fireline.
The Forest Service will provide you with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), clothing, hardhat and fire shelter, and will provide reimbursement for purchasing lug soled, leather eight-inch topped boots. The Forest Service also provides training in many specialty fields.
Wildland Firefighter Apprentice
The Forest Service hires applicants annually using the Wildland Firefighting Apprenticeship Program. The apprenticeship program will develop the knowledge and basic skills necessary to work as a wildland firefighter.
Apprentices will complete 3,000 hours of on-the-job training. They will also complete a residential firefighting academy at the Wildland Fire Training Center in McClellan, California. Apprentices will be paid and all costs of training will be covered by the Forest Service. Upon successful completion of the program, apprentices will be in permanent GS-5 firefighter positions.