The U.S. Forest Service has more than 120 fire-related jobs on the Stanislaus National Forest, paying from $15 to more than $35 an hour, and the agency will host an in-person application and hiring assistance event from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday at 19777 Greenley Road in Sonora.
tVacancies represent all aspects of wildland firefighting operations, from basic wildland firefighters, who start at $14.38 and can earn up to $18.06 an hour; for fuel managers, which start at $27.07 an hour; and assistant forest fuels manager, who start at $39.69 an hour, a Forest Service spokeswoman Benjamin Cosell said Monday.
Under the bipartisan federal infrastructure law, all firefighters would be paid a minimum of $15 an hour, Cosell said. The Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture have until October 1 to codify this into the wildland firefighter pay scale. Until then, any firefighter below the $15 level will receive an additional bonus to reach that level.
Starting Jan. 1, California’s minimum wage must be $15.50 an hour for all employers. There will also be vacancies in the forest for fire dispatch and prevention, Cosell said.
Current wildfire-related staffing numbers more than 140 fire and aviation personnel, which is normal for this time of year, Cosell said. The key is preparing for the 2023 fire season this spring, summer and fall, when the forest hopes to have a full complement of 257 fire and aviation personnel.
After a historic multi-week wet spell earlier this month, right now it’s nowhere near fire season in the Stanislaus National Forest or anywhere else in the Central Sierra.
An index from five stations, including Calaveras Big Trees and Hetch Hetchy, showed the Calaveras and Tuolumne counties’ watersheds have received 33.6 inches of rain since the start of the current water year on Oct. 1 — 188 percent of the Jan. 23 average.
Also as of Monday, the Central Sierra snowpack had 52 sensors showing an average snow water equivalent of 35.4 inches, 230 percent of normal for the Jan. 23 date and 130 percent of the April 1 average. Some hydrologists and other water scientists estimated earlier this month that snowpack in the Golden State is now at a 20-year high.
Wet winters can always mean plenty of new fuels for the next fire season. The Forest Service is getting an early start on hiring for later this year because the agency has learned from recent experience.
In July 2021, the fire season was in full swing and the Stanislaus National Forest had only 75% of its full firefighting staff, in part because other firefighting agencies offered better pay and benefits than the Forest Service.
This is still the case a year and a half later. Wildland firefighters with Cal Fire can earn $26 an hour and up, and paramedics can start at $37 an hour.
The Forest Service is learning how to do more with less. In July 2021, the agency hosted fire militia training in the North Fork Tuolumne River watershed near Long Barn for Stanislaus National Forest employees such as wildlife biologists, rangers and recreation specialists to train with wildfire crews and complete basic training – in case no – fire personnel were needed to assist in firefighting efforts this summer.
Despite the lower pay for some entry-level firefighting jobs, the Forest Service appeals to many entry-level workers looking for experience because it has a lower entry bar than many other fire agencies, Brandon Hull, Chief of the Stanislaus Hotshots, said in an email Monday.
“This is where people come to get that one or two years of experience before they move on to another outfit,” Hull said. “When your resume says US Forest Service, there’s a certain pedigree that goes along with it — departments know that you can work in a team environment and that there’s a certain level of commitment and dedication to duty in that individual.”
No state agency in California can offer new hires the ability to fight fires across the state, with different fuel types and environments, Hull said.
Entry-level firefighters can also approach the hottest teams “if they really want to challenge themselves and prove who they are,” Hull said. “Hotshots are the specialty of the firefighter world. It’s where you learn who you are, what you’re made of, and often in the harshest of environments. Like military special forces, it’s not for everyone, and the variable player teams don’t want anyone, you have to earn your spot on a projector crew. If you think you have what it takes, there’s no better place to find that answer.”
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the country about three years ago in March 2020. Pandemic restrictions have changed the ways many people look for new jobs and are still changing the ways the Forest Service hires new employees.
“For the first time in quite some time, we’re trying to add a relatively large number of employees,” Jason Kuiken, Stanislaus National Forest manager, said Monday. “That’s why we’re working hard to understand what the hiring challenges are and to overcome them. Without a doubt, hiring has become more of a challenge.”
Locally for the Stanislaus National Forest, Kuiken and his hiring managers face a series of headwinds, including the availability of affordable housing; competition for limited resources from various state and federal agencies; a workforce that is exhausted after a few years outside of normal fire conditions; and connecting with a population “not as drawn to rural life as in years past,” Quicken said.
The Stanislaus National Forest remains committed to using every tool in its chest to fill staffing gaps, Kuiken said. He and his staff are encouraged by the recent progress made to address wildland firefighter pay, mental health issues and quality of life.
Across the region, the Forest Service is looking to hire up to 400 firefighters statewide, Cosell said. Tuesday’s hiring event in Sonora is strictly for firefighting jobs, in support of two other hiring events Tuesday and Wednesday in Fresno and Feb. 14-15 in Redding.
The Sonora event is for people who can’t make it to Fresno or Reading, Cosell said.
“The USAJOBS portal can be difficult,” Cosell said. “We’ll help you find your way.”
The Stanislaus National Forest has openings for 71 permanent positions, 42 temporary positions and nine seasonal positions, Cosell said. At least five forest employees have been assigned to Tuesday’s hiring event, and the forest may add more employees if many potential recruits show up in person.
Applicants who go to the forest ranger’s office at 19777 Greenley Road today should bring their smartphones, tablets, laptops or other portable computing devices. Fire personnel will be on hand to guide people through the application process and navigate the USAJobs interface.
Jobs will be posted on USAJOBS.gov using the Direct Hiring Authority. Start dates may vary. Applicants do not need to attend any of the recruitment events to apply.
Stanislaus National Forest was established 126 years ago in February 1897. The Forest Service is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
For more information, contact Clint Gould, assistant fire management officer for the Stanislaus National Forest at (209) 288-6242 or (209) 283-4558, or visit https://bit.ly/3GUqiOI.