Wildland firefighter holding the line on a smokey section of a wildfire — *Holding the line on a smokey section of a wildfire*

Entry Level Positions - What to look for

This video is a comprehensive overview of a federal wildland fire job posting so you know what you're looking at, what to look for, and what you're qualified for on USAJobs.gov

GW Levels (Pay Scale) AKA Grade/ Series

Entry level jobs are GW-03 pay level/ grade. If you have some college or a degree you may qualify for a GW-04. Currently all federal wildland firefighter positions are series 0456 - Wildland Fire Management. Jobs may say Wildland Firefighter (Hotshot, Handcrew, Engine, Apprentice, Suppression, Fuels, etc) depending on what Federal agency the position is for. Pay table HERE

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.

Temporary Seasonal vs Permanent Job Positions

All entry level jobs are temporary seasonal except for federal apprenticeship positions labeled 0456- Wildland Firefighter - Apprentice and a new one labeled 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.

Here’s more info: Forest Service WFAP Page

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. They also include a timeframe for hiring and when to expect interest calls and 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, Position Information, or Agency Contact sections of the job posting on USAJobs.

I’ve 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 outreach announcement

The above outreach is the 2026 permanent job outreach for the Payette NF in Idaho. But they finally made all available 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

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:

26-FIRE-P1R14-FFTR-34DH

26- Year
FIRE- Position
P1- Phase 1 (there’s usually multiple phases of hiring
R14- Regions 1 & 4
FFTR- Crew Type, WFAP/ HCREW/ ENG can also be seen here
34- GW 03 & 04 pay grade
DH- Direct Hire

Temporary Position Example:

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