Female firefighter with drip torch and fire in the foreground

Hiring season has already started for the 2027 season! All federal wildland firefighter jobs with USFS, BLM, NPS, and BIA will be posted on USAJobs.gov. The United States Wildland Fire Service consolidation process is still in motion so not all jobs are showing up under that this hiring season.

Vacancies for many permanent positions in FireHire in Phase 1 are open in USAJobs.gov starting August 1 through September 22, 2026. Depending on the region and agency they may’ve been open sooner or later than this (there is a Phase 2 and even a springtime Phase 3 round depending on vacancies that open later)

Vacancies for many temporary seasonal positions for BLM and NPS are open in USAJobs October 1 through October 22 (some are only open til October 15) and most USFS positions will be open in USAJobs October 30 through November 12, 2026. There may be more rounds of hiring so make sure to set saved searches on USAJobs.gov (*process described below)

USAJOBS 2026 APPLICATION TIPS

Make sure you resume is a PDF and no more than 2 pages, 10 point font and 0.5 inch margins or larger, and no bigger than 5MB. If you’ve previously uploaded a resume to USAJobs.gov make sure it fits to this guideline. Additional guidance HERE

My Best Tips for a Great Fire Resume

If you already have a year or two in fire make sure you are writing your resume to speak to the duties listed in each job posting. Here’s a PDF I made of the most common GW-04 and GW-05 duties I found looking at 2026 jobs.

A major change in this year’s Federal applications are the short and long form questions. These are in all GW applications I looked at including GW-03/4s. You DO NOT have to answer the first four related to your dedication to public service. It will not be counted against you in hiring. It says so right in the first paragraph. You can use them as a type of cover letter if you wish.

See the short form questions HERE

In all GW-04/5 applications I looked at you DO have to answer a long form question describing a specific instance from your training and/or personal fire experience:

“- Describe the situation -- i.e., the challenge faced, the problem to be solved, etc.
- Describe the specific actions you took.
- State the outcome, results, or long-term impact of your accomplishment.

Describe your most significant accomplishment with fire management, please include the position title in the box below. Failure to provide a full, articulated response may result in an ineligible rating or affect your overall rating (limit of 2000 characters)”

See the full long form question instructions HERE

A common issue that keeps coming up: to select multiple duty locations you have to hold the command button or control button (depending on your type of computer) and select each location to highlight them.

Last thing: make sure you have at least three references ready with name, phone number, and email.

HOW TO FIND JOBS

Find job openings by visiting usajobs.gov; searching keyword: wildland firefighter or use this link (filtered by Wildland Firefighter).

I like to set saved searches with states so I can be notified by email whenever a wildland fire job is posted that fits my parameters. You can get as specific as you like using the filters on the right side of the page (they show up once you’ve done a primary search for wildland firefighter jobs)

This video is an overview of how to find and save wildland fire jobs that are currently open and accepting applications as well as how to save job searches so you can be notified as soon as they are open on USAJobs.gov

This video is a comprehensive overview of an entry level GW-3/4 federal wildland fire job posting and a GW-4/5 Senior Firefighter job posting so you know what you're looking at, what to look for, and what you're qualified for on USAJobs.gov

This video is an overview of how to find, check required documents, and apply step by step to an entry level wildland fire job that is currently open and accepting applications on USAJobs.gov. NOTE: This is from last year. Will update when I have time but the process is very similar

GW LEVELS (PAY SCALE) AKA GRADE/ SERIES

Entry level jobs are GW-03 pay level/ grade (GW stands for General Wildland Firefighter). If you have some college or a degree you may qualify for a GW-04. Currently all wildland firefighter positions are series 0456- Wildland Fire Management.

2026 Wildland Firefighter GW Pay Scale Tables

There’s a lot of on going federal wildland firefighter pay scale and pay specifics changing in 2026 (including the addition of hazard pay on prescribed fires) with the creation of the United States Wildland Fire Service (USWFS). For the most up to date info on wildland fire pay and all the changes happening within the government check out Grassroots Wildland Firefighters website. It explains everything in great detail and they are working super hard to get us increased pay, benefits, and better work life balance.

TEMPORARY SEASONAL VS PERMANENT JOB POSITIONS

All entry level jobs are temporary seasonal except for federal apprenticeship positions labeled 0456- Wildland Firefighter - Apprentice and 0456- Wildland Firefighter - Fire Suppression, which are permanent positions.

Wildland Firefighter Apprenticeship Program (WFAP) positions are a set career path with classes and trainings to go from an entry level FFT2 to the next step in wildland fire as a FFT1/ squad boss. A huge bonus is that these are considered permanent seasonal positions and you will get retirement and health care benefits that you don’t get as a temporary seasonal. Unfortunately some regions aren’t offering WFAP jobs in Phase 1 this year.

Here’s more info: Forest Service WFAP Page

DRUG TESTING

All temporary and permanent firefighter positions will be drug tested as a preemployment requirement 90 days prior to first work day.

OUTREACH ANNOUNCEMENTS

Outreach announcements are put out by each individual forest/national park/BLM zone/ etc. They usually come out shortly before the jobs are posted in USAJobs. They have all the fire jobs broken down by job announcement, crew type, location, and how to contact hiring officials for each crew. As well as a timeframe for hiring and when to expect interest callsand when they are making hiring decisions. They are the best resource for finding fire positions in each region/ forest if contact information is not listed in the Summary or Agency Contact sections of the job posting on USAJobs.

I currently work for the Forest Service so I’m most familiar with their hiring process (because it’s what I see the back end of to hire for my module) and I get internal emails about their timelines. The BLM and National Park Service (NPS) fall under the federal Department of the Interior (DOI) so they have some different hiring practices and their job postings are generally open for longer time periods than the Forest Service.

Example permanent job outreach announcement

Example temp job outreach announcement

The above outreaches are for the Payette NF in Idaho. You can also reach out to hiring managers on the region pages listed below or on this page to find the specific Fire Hire positions and vacancy announcement numbers for positions in that region or check social media for specific crews and modules to post their own.

They made all current outreaches searchable and include contact info for specific positions. Type “wildland firefighter” in the search bar to get to the right ones.

Here it is: Outreach Search Page

Also in map format: Forest Service Career Map

DECODING A FOREST SERVICE JOB/ VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER

These are the specific job postings you will be applying for. Towns are listed under a specific region, which may have its own job announcement or be lumped in with other regions. These can be found on job postings on USAJobs.gov, outreach announcements or on social media or web pages.

LOCATIONS: You can select as many duty locations as you want

PERMANENT POSITION/ FIREHIRE EXAMPLE:

27-FIRE-P1R14610-FFTR-34DH

27- Year
FIRE- Position
P1- Phase 1 (there’s usually multiple phases of hiring)
R14610- Regions 1, 4, 6 & 10 (this can also be confusing because sometimes states are in multiple regions. If you have specific places you want to apply, always try to filter by town and/or state first instead of relying on region so you can find what you’re looking for)
FFTR- Crew Type (WFAP/ HCREW/ IHCRW (Hotshot Crew)/ HTK (Helitack)/ ENG can also be seen here)
34- GW 03 & 04 pay grade
DH- Direct Hire

TEMPORARY POSITION EXAMPLES FROM 2026 (as of this writing in mid August temp announcements weren’t out yet, will update):

26-TEMPF3-R1-2PC033-3DH

26- Year
TEMPF3- TEMP: Temporary F: Fire 3: Phase 3 overall of hiring
R1- Region 1
2PC033- This one denotes general entry level Wildland Firefighter. Each position is assigned a random set of numbers that change year to year.
3- GW-03 pay grade
DH- Direct Hire

26-TEMPF3-R4-2PC048-4DH

26- Year
TEMPF3- TEMP: Temporary F: Fire 3: Phase 3 overall of hiring
R4- Region 4
2PC048- This one denotes general Wildland Firefighter. Each position is assigned a random set of numbers/ letters that change year to year.
4- GW-04 pay grade
DH- Direct Hire

US Forest Service (USFS) Jobs

The best link

Careers in Wildland Fire | US Forest Service (usda.gov) Explains the different types of positions (crew, engine, helitack, etc). Heaps of information on where/ how to apply/ who to contact in different regions.

Video series put out by NIFC on everything USAJobs and how to apply

Positions Available Nationwide

Click on each region below for more information including location information, outreachs, fire positions with job vacancy announcement numbers, hiring contact info, and application dates. Some regions are better than others with their website and info provided (Region 6 is honestly ridiculous compared to the others) so if you can’t find info in the region you want click around to others and I bet you’ll find some better answers and timelines.

FIRE POSITIONS BY REGION

Other Federal Agency Jobs

State Departments

CALFire Careers CALIFORNIA

Careers | Fire Prevention and Control (colorado.gov) COLORADO

Wildfire Seasonal Job Descriptions - Department of Lands (idaho.gov) IDAHO

Employment - SOUTHERN IDAHO TIMBER PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION (sitpa.org) SOUTHERN IDAHO

Wildland Firefighter Positions - Michigan DNR MICHIGAN

Wildland Firefighter Positions | Minnesota DNR (state.mn.us) MINNESOTA

Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Fire Job Search (montana.gov) MONTANA

Wildland Fire Management : Jobs: Nevada Division of Forestry NEVADA

Apply to be a Wildland Firefighter - Forestry (nm.gov) NEW MEXICO

Oregon Department of Forestry : Jobs : About ODF : State of Oregon OREGON

Employment | Utah DNR – FFSL (Forestry, Fire and State Lands) UTAH

Join our Seasonal Firefighting Team | WA - DNR WASHINGTON

Wildland Firefighter Employment | | Wisconsin DNR WISCONSIN

Other ways to find job postings:

Social Media

Follow @careersinwildlandfire (heaps of great info and specific crew’s job posting. Also grouped into fire job type postings: engine, crew, etc), @thehotshotwakeup and @hotshotbrewery (tons of fire job postings in their stories), @ushelitack (helitack specific), #fireseason2027, your local Forest, National Park, BLM, BIA, Fish and Wildlife, State Department, Department of Natural Resources, or specific crew you are trying to get on. Most crews have an Instagram account and they will post their job openings/ vacancy announcements numbers.

Most importantly, if you want a job CALL OR EMAIL!

Cold calls are part of the job process. Wildland fire positions in some areas can be competitive. You will stand out and put a personality to a name on their list and show you really want the job. If you are just starting out don’t call smokejumper bases. They don’t hire people with zero fire experience.