Wildland Firefighter Work Schedule Specifics

Field LifeCareer

Mar 4

*Filling up drip torches on a prescribed burn*

Wildland firefighters can work 14 days straight (called a roll) with 16-hour days and possibly up to three days travel before and after the official 14.

Night shifts and longer shifts of 16-24 hours are possible depending on the fire and area you are in, but not super common. My record is 29 hours straight which is honestly nothing crazy.

During a regular work week when there is little fire danger we do a lot of project work. This can include cutting down trees with chainsaws and piling it into burn piles or scattering it, prepping and digging line for prescribed burns, station and tool maintenance, engine maintenance, patrolling high use areas to ensure campfire regulation compliance, paperwork, and general readiness to be prepared when fires happen.

When not on a roll, firefighters work a standard 40 hour work week. It’s very important to be flexible! You may start a workday thinking you’ll make it to that concert you bought tickets for that night and then find yourself hiking up to a fire that just started at 6 pm. Anything can happen.

Being available to work overtime is expected. Some weeks may be 40 hours and some can be 112 hours or more.

You won’t get lots of time off so don’t expect to get a specific week or even a weekend off in peak fire season. Supervisors will do the best they can to get you to a friend’s wedding or a river trip, so let them know as soon as possible so they can plan accordingly.

However, you’re a member of the team and it’s a quick way to not get hired back if you’re not committed to the job and you’re always trying to take work off when things are busy.

I’ve missed countless weddings and had to cancel plans at the last minute because of a fire or leaving suddenly to travel to another fire. It’s an ongoing joke that if someone makes plans something will usually happen that day or we will get called to go out on a roll.

Depending on what the day is like and the work needed, you will get an unpaid lunch break of 30 minutes. Sometimes that doesn’t happen and you eat while you’re working or whenever you can sneak a short break.

Explore more about pay and work/ life specifics in the Field Life resource series