McCall Smokejumper Recruitment & Employment

An aircraft drops cargo to wildland firefighters on the ground on the Salmon-Challis National Forest.

The McCall Smokejumper Base is searching for experienced, highly motivated, and physically fit current wildland firefighters that are interested in becoming Smokejumpers. This page contains information to help you apply for temporary seasonal rookie Smokejumper positions.

Smokejumper positions are not entry-level firefighting positions. All applicants must meet specific medical, physical, and firefighting work experience requirements to be considered for these positions. Candidates must be in top physical condition and capable of performing arduous duties. Any physical problem enough to impair efficiency or endanger fellow workers will disqualify the applicant.

Applicants must meet the minimum 90 days of wildland fire experience and have 12 months of qualifying experience at the GS-04 level. However, due to the quantity of applicants, quality applicants are encouraged to have at a minimum 4-5 years of wildland fire experience with a diverse background working for resources such as hotshot crews, helitack modules, engines, or type 2 initial attack crews; be qualified at the FFT1 and ICT5 level; and have leadership experience with a safety conscious attitude.

If you lack the desired fire experience, you may want to consider applying for a position on an Interagency Hotshot Crew, organized hand crew, district engine, or helitack module. These crews receive valuable training and experience in fire suppression work. There are numerous crews located throughout the United States with the majority being in the West. For information, contact your local Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, or National Park Service office and visit USA Jobs for current openings in the GS-0462 job series.

Job Opportunities:

The McCall Smokejumper program is expecting to fill multiple temporary seasonal and/or detail positions for the 2022 fire season. Please review our 2022 hiring outreach notices posted below and visit our recruitment and employment page for more information on how to apply.

Forestry Technician (Rookie Smokejumper) GS-5 Temporary Seasonal

Forestry Technician (Rookie Smokejumper) - Detail

For questions contact Keith Suemnick, 208-634-0380 or Garrett Hudson, 208-634-0381

Recruitment period: Recruitment generally begins with outreaches in August. Job announcements come out in September or October. Announcements are generally open for 15-30 days. If you are interested in applying visit USA Jobs for current job openings. You will need to create an account (if you don't have one already) and an applicant profile. After you create your profile type in the word 'smokejumper' in the search bar to see a list of current job announcements.

Entry grade level: GS-0462-05 ($16.73/hr.)

Employment period: May to September. Selected applicants should receive an offer of employment in early February. Upon reporting for duty you must satisfactorily complete six weeks of intensive training in parachute jumping, physical conditioning and fire suppression.

Helpful hints for applying:

You must indicate the base(s) you are applying for.
Before submitting your application be sure you have marked all boxes and check all basic qualifications on your application for correct answers.
If you are new to smokejumping make sure you are applying for a GS-5 rookie smokejumper position.
Make sure to include your e-mail address is on your application to receive confirmation of your application acceptance and any possible hiring correspondence.

For questions contact Keith Suemnick, 208-634-0380 or Garrett Hudson, 208-634-0381

Pay and Subsistence

Smokejumper candidates are hired at the GS-5 level ($16.73/hour). Overtime hours are paid at one and one-half the hourly base rate. Smokejumpers also receive hazard duty pay where applicable under USDA Forest Service pay regulations.

Employees must provide their own subsistence while working out of the base at McCall. On fire or project assignments away from the base, subsistence allowances are provided by the government. Keep in mind it will take approximately four weeks to receive your first paycheck, so you must have sufficient funds to support yourself during this time.