Fire Hiring
Permanent Fire Positions
The Northern Region hires hundreds of permanent wildland fire positions across National Forests and Grasslands in north Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota. Specialized positions include dispatch, engine crews, fire and fuels management, hotshot crews, hand crews, helitack, smokejumpers, and prevention. Hiring for vacancies in these permanent positions takes place in four phases throughout the year. See below for the timeline.
Careers in Wildland Fire
More information on Forest Service Careers in Fire and what to expect through the hiring process.
National Interagency Fire Center Career Resources
Find video tutorials on how to apply for a fire job on USAJOBS.
| Hiring Phase | Positions | Announcement Opens | Announcement Closes | Selection Period | Start Date (est. no later than) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Hiring Phase 1 (Centralized Hiring event) | GS-9 and Below Vacant Positions | August 2025 | Sept. 2025 | November / December 2025 | March 2026 |
| Hiring Phase 2 | GS-9 or GS-10 and Above | January 2026 | January 2026 | January / February 2026 | April / May 2026 |
| Hiring Phase 3 | Select GS-8 and Above | March 2026 | March 2026 | April 2026 | June / July 2026 |
| Hiring Phase 4 | GS-9 and above | June 2026 | June 2026 | July 2026 | Sept. 2026 |
| Special Entry Level Hiring Event | GS-3 & GS-4 | March 2026 | March 2026 | March 2026 | May / June 2026 |
Note: Dates are estimates; please review the job announcement in USAJOBS for Open and Close Date.
For more information, reach out to the Fire Management contacts for each Forest/Grassland and District listed below. Specific information about the position(s) and duty location(s) is available from the units.
- Aerial Fire Depot – Charles Savoia charles.savoia@usda.gov
- Missoula Smokejumper Base – 406-329-4894
- Missoula Tanker Base – Jared Bohrman 406-829-7328
- Beaverhead-Deerlodge – Joe Sampson joseph.sampson@usda.gov / Eric Reiner eric.reiner@usda.gov
- Anaconda Job Corps – Monica Thomas 406-546-0695
- Butte Jefferson District - Kevin Smith DFMO 406-491-0202
- Dillon District – Aaron Knudson DFMO 775-846-3056
- Wisdom/Wise River District – Richard Griffin DFMO 406-925-1951
- Wise River Helitack – Bert Smith FAO 406-660-7371
- Madison District - Jim King DFMO 406-682-4253
- Pintler District – Jerod Russell DFMO 208-946-6803
- Dillon Interagency Dispatch – 406-683-3991
- Bitterroot – Matt Young matthew.young@usda.gov
- Stevensville District - John "Jay" Wood DFMO 406-777-7436
- Darby / Sula Districts – Zach Lee DAFMO 406-821-4280
- West Fork District – Bret Lewis DFMO 406-821-1247
- Trapper Creek Job Corps – Craig McDonald Job Corp FAFMO 406-821-2159
- Bitterroot IHC – Cache Gibbons 406-821-4253
- Bitterroot Helitack – Josh Woodard Asst. Superintendent 406-529-2713
- Hamilton Interagency Dispatch – 406-363-7133
- Custer-Gallatin –Scott Schuster scott.schuster@usda.gov
- Ashland District - Scott Studiner DFMO 406-784-2344
- Beartooth District - DFMO 406-446-4538
- Bozeman / Hebgen Districts – Rob Spence DAFMO 406-640-0810
- Yellowstone / Gardiner Districts – Zac Krohn DFMO 406-223-0140
- West Yellowstone Smokejumper Base - Eric Held 406-646-7691
- Sioux District – Jason Donahey 605-797-4432
- Gallatin Valley Rappelers – Curtis Parkhouse 208-859-7838
- Billings Interagency Dispatch – Angie Pollock 406-896-2900
- Dakota Prairie – Lee Nelson lee.nelson@usda.gov or Zac Thompson zachary.thompson@usda.gov 605-677-9445
- Flathead – Rick Connell richard.connell@usda.gov 406-758-5261
- Hungry Horse / Glacier View District - Andy Huntsberger DFMO 406-387-3833
- Spotted Bear District - Jim Flint DFMO 406-758-6471 / 406-387-3845
- Swan Lake - Brett Pargman DAFMO 406-837-7549
- Tally Lake District - Manny Mendoza DFMO 406-758-3522
- Flathead Helitack – Tom Rawlings 406-387-3864
- Flathead IHC – Shawn Borgen 406-387-3836
- Kalispell Interagency Dispatch – Sarah Whetzel 406-758-5260
- Helena - Lewis and Clark – Kendal Wilson kendal.wilson@usda.gov / David Nunn David.nunn@usda.gov
- Belt Creek / White Sulphur Springs District - Kip Colby DFMO 406-547-6015
- Helena District - Mike Kaiser DZFMO 406-495-3931
- Townsend District - Cody Crismore DFMO 406-266-3425
- Judith-Musselshell District - Matt Plagenz DZFMO 406-566-2292
- Lincoln District - Jarel Kurtz DFMO 406-362-7031
- Rocky Mountain District - Kyle Inabnit DFMO 406-562-3247
- Helena IHC - 406-495-3921
- Lewis and Clark IHC – Nick Wydra 406-791-7788
- Helena Aviation Center/Central Montana Helitack – Bjorn Troberg FAO 406-495-3832
- Helena Interagency Dispatch – Kim Beaver 406-449-5475
- Great Falls Interagency Dispatch – Travis Collier 406-731-5311
- Idaho-Panhandle – Mike Behrens mike.behrens@usda.gov / Shawn Pearson shawn.pearson@usda.gov
- Bonners Ferry District - Mitch Prophet 406-291-3750
- Coeur d’ Alene District - John Heyn DAFMO 208-659-5254 / Ryan Nipp DAFMO 208-659-1921
- Priest Lake District - Glen Palfrey 208-443-6824
- Sandpoint District – Robert Burnside DFMO 208-217-8311 / Bryce Barth DAFMO 208-449-2950
- St. Joe District – DFMO 208-245-6012 / Jerrod Scheffelmaier DAFMO 208-245-6218
- Panhandle Helitack – Randy Gaulrapp 208-920-0077
- Coeur d’Alene Interagency Dispatch – Melanie Roose 208-762-6915
- Kootenai – Jacob Jeresek Deputy Fire Staff 406-283-7795
- Cabinet District - Dusty Pierson DFMO 406-827-0709
- Libby District - Brent Cooper DFMO 406-283-7597
- Rexford District - RJ McDole DFMO 406-296-7138
- Three Rivers District - Beau Macy DAFMO 406-295-7477
- Kootenai Interagency Dispatch – 406-283-7740
- Lolo – Jesse Kurpius jesse.kurpius@usda.gov
- Missoula District - Stryker Clark DFMO 406-329-3852
- Ninemile District – Teo Digiando DFMO 406-626-5420
- Plains District - Trevor Unsworth 406-826-4325
- Seeley Lake District – Adam Carr DFMO 406-677-3916
- Superior District – DFMO 406-822-3916
- Lolo IHC – Shawn Faiella – 406-329-3808
- Missoula Interagency Dispatch – 406-829-7070
- Nez Perce-Clearwater – Josh Bransford joshua.bransford@usda.gov / Brandon Skinner brandon.skinner@usda.gov
- Lochsa District - Sean Gaines DFMO 208-926-6419
- Moose Creek District - Jon Norman DFMO 208-926-8948
- North Fork District – Aaron Skinner DFMO 208-476-8206
- Palouse District – Alan Carlson DFMO 208-875-1702
- Powell District – Brandon Cichowski DFMO 208-942-0344
- Red River District – Craig Roach DFMO 208-842-2123
- Salmon River District – Matt Myers 208-839-2102
- Grangeville Interagency Dispatch – Adam Warren 208-983-6800
For questions regarding overall Fire Hire process, contact Tiffany Counts at tiffany.counts@usda.gov or 406-241-8305
More information about fire careers
Image
Firefighters spray water on hot spots on the Granite Pass Fire near Lolo Pass, Montana/Idaho, 2021.
Photo Credit: USDA Photo/Michael Gue.- National Interagency Fire Center Fire Careers Resources
- About USDA Forest Service Wildland Fire Careers
- Veterans Hiring Resources
- Great Northern Fire Crew
- Northern Rockies Interagency Hotshot Crews
- Northern Rockies Smokejumpers
- Wildland Firefighter Apprentice Program
- Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act