Stanislaus National Forest seeks hires for firefighting, prescribed burns. Pay can hit $78K
Applicants have a Sept. 24 deadline in the latest round of fire-crew hiring in the Stanislaus National Forest.
The 23 jobs have annually salaries from $31,512 to $77,955 and are year-round. These employees will not just handle wildfires, generally from midspring to midautumn. They also will reduce the threat with prescribed burning in the off-season.
The hiring reflects a consensus that the woods have grown unnaturally dense. The Stanislaus has ambitious plans that combine prescribed burning with logging of smaller trees.
Details on the jobs, including training opportunities, are at www.fs.usda.gov. This is one of four recruitments by the forest each year.
Some of the current openings are on hand crews, which use chainsaws and other basic tools to clear vegetation. Some involve fire engines, bulldozers and aircraft that could be called in on a blaze.
The lowest salary is for a “forestry technician” with little experience on fires. The highest is for a supervisor with many years in the field.
The workers will be based at the forest headquarters in Sonora or at ranger district offices along Highways 4, 108 and 120.
The forest also employs people in recreation, wildlife protection, timber sales, archaeology and other fields. They and the fire jobs follow the pay schedule for federal employees in general, which rises with experience.
This story was originally published September 3, 2024 at 12:04 PM.
