USFS Increases Fire Crews for 2001

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The U.S. Forest Service plans to hire 3,500 new firefighters as a safeguard against a repeat of last summer's destructive fire season. Most of the new firefighter jobs will be temporary positions for workers willing to wield shovels and other hand tools used to build fire lines designed to halt the spread of fire. Pay ranges from $7.75 an hour to $16.09 an hour.

The California region alone will hire 1,500 new workers, including 36 new hand crews with twenty people per crew. Officials are also recruiting staff for eight new helicopters, 56 engines and sixteen bulldozers. Current seasonal employees will probably fill most of those positions, making room for workers new to the agency.

Applications and information also are available through the U.S. Forest Service Web site at www.fs.fed.us/fsjobs, or by calling 877/813-3476, toll-free.

The deadline for the first round of applications is January 19. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years old.

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