SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Bureau of Land Management is hosting five events to quickly fill more than 100 vital wildland firefighter and various supporting positions throughout the state for the 2025 fire year. Applicants are encouraged to attend one of the in-person events but may apply online in advance.

During the events, staff will be on-site to review resumes, process applications, conduct interviews, and potentially make job offers.

“To meet BLM California’s wildland fire-related challenges, we are recruiting applicants who are committed to managing fire in the most effective and efficient ways possible,” said State Fire Management Officer Peter Kelly. “Please consider the BLM for a rewarding career in wildland fire management and apply and visit with us during these hiring events.”

The BLM will be hiring wildland firefighters for engines, hotshots, handcrews, helitack and various supporting positions. A summary of these types of positions is available on the National Interagency Fire Center’s wildland fire job page.

The in-person events are scheduled as follows from 9 am to 4 pm daily:

December 12- 14, 2024
Apple Valley Fire Center 18809 Central Road Apple Valley, California 92307 (Google Map)
Hours: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

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January 30 – February 2, 2025
Bakersfield Field Office 35126 McMurtrey Ave. Bakersfield, California 93308  (Google Map)
Hours: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

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February 7-8, 2025
Carson Valley Inn In the Topaz Room 1627 Hwy 395 N Minden, NV 89423 (Google Map)
Hours: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

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March 4-5, 2025
Hidden Valley Fire Station 1709 HWY 139 Susanville, CA 96130 (Google Map)
Hours: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

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March 6-7, 2025
Surprise Valley Fire Station 602 Cressler St. Cedarville, CA 96104 (Google Map)
Hours: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Job announcements, including qualifications, salaries, application instructions and application deadlines, will be available at USAJOBS. For more information applicants can visit the BLM California fire hire page online.

 

 

 

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The Bureau of Land Management Bakersfield Field Office is issuing an emergency closure of the Case Mountain Extensive Recreation Management Area in Tulare County, due to wildland fire danger from the nearby Coffee Pot Fire. This temporary closure is effective immediately, until further notice.

The Coffee Pot Fire started Saturday, Aug. 3, and has burned more than 1,600 acres of heavy brush and ground fuels as well as burning through the giant sequoia groves near the Case Mountain Extensive Recreation Management Area and in Sequoia National Park.  

Case Mountain Extensive Recreation Management Area, which is approximately 20,000 acres of BLM-managed public land located near the town of Three Rivers, in Tulare County, contains the only Sequoia grove complex managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The complex is comprised of six distinct sequoia grove units, which total about 444 acres. The area is also part of the Milk Ranch Peak Wilderness Study Area and the nearly 20,000-acre Kaweah Area of Critical Environmental Concern, which is designated for protection of the Case Mountain giant sequoia groves, other sensitive plant and animal species, riparian areas, and cultural resources.

The area is closed to all forms of public access to provide for public and firefighter safety in relation to the Coffee Pot Fire and management of that fire. For specific questions related to the closure, please contact the Bakersfield Field Office at 661-391-6000. For information about the Coffee Pot Fire, please email 2024.coffeepot.ca@firenet.gov, or call 559-492-9988.

MORENO VALLEY, Calif. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), in partnership with the Department of Interior (DOI) and Team Rubicon, is conducting a wildland firefighter training session Jan. 22 – Jan. 25 at the Victor Valley College Regional Public Safety Training Center in Apple Valley, Calif., for military veterans. The training, one of several sessions taking place throughout the country, will train veterans in wildland fire suppression tactics, including communication techniques, fireline construction, equipment operation and other critical wildland firefighting skills.

In April 2015, DOI and BLM formed a partnership with Team Rubicon, a veteran-led disaster response nonprofit organization, to take advantage of veteran skills acquired in the military that can translate to wildland firefighting such as teamwork, decisive leadership, risk mitigation and management, logistics and emergency medicine.

Last year, newly trained Team Rubicon wildland firefighters responded to wildfires in Alaska, Nevada, California, Oregon and Washington during one of the most severe fire seasons in history.

“It just makes sense to match our veterans’ skills with wildland firefighting,” states Ron Dunton, Director of BLM Fire and Aviation. “They already understand critical aspects of the wildland fire program such as our Incident Command System and they have the work ethic we need in wildland fires.” 

By engaging veterans in disaster response, Team Rubicon seeks to provide veterans with a sense of purpose, community and identity often missing following their military service.

Several Marines founded Team Rubicon in response to the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake. Since then, the organization has responded to floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and other severe weather damage, helping disaster survivors all over the globe.

For further information regarding the Team Rubicon program, contact Pat Ross, membership@teamrubiconusa.org or Stephen Razo, srazo@blm.gov.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Bureau of Land Management is hosting two events in California to quickly fill over 100 vital wildland firefighter and dispatch positions throughout the state for the 2024 fire year. Applicants are encouraged to attend one of the in-person events but may apply online in advance.

During the events, staff will be on-site to review resumes, process applications, conduct interviews and background checks and, at the Sacramento event, potentially make job offers.

“California’s need to build our wildland firefighter workforce is increasing and the Bureau of Land Management is looking to expedite the hiring process,” said State Fire Management Officer Peter Kelly. “The BLM encourages enthusiastic, energetic individuals looking for a rewarding career in wildland fire management to apply and visit with us during these hiring events.”

The BLM will be hiring wildland firefighters for engines, hotshots, handcrews, helitack and dispatchers. A summary of these types of positions is available on the National Interagency Fire Center’s wildland fire job page.

The in-person events are scheduled as follows:

December 1-3, 2023
Pacific Southwest Research Station
4955 Canyon Crest Dr
Riverside, CA 92507
Hours: 9 am to 4 pm each day.

February 2-4, 2024
Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Sacramento 
2001 Point W Way
Sacramento, CA 95815
Hours: Friday, 12 pm – 4 pm; Saturday. 8 am to 4 pm; Sunday 8 am to 2 pm.

In addition to the hiring events, three informational webinars are scheduled to provide applicants tips and assistance to navigate the application process. Those webinars are scheduled for Oct. 19 and Nov. 9, 2023; and Jan. 25, 2024. Please register in advance through the website.

Job announcements, including qualifications, salaries, application instructions and application deadlines, will be available at USAJOBS. 

Applicants can visit https://www.blm.gov/california-firehire, for more information.
 

THREE RIVERS, Calif. – The Bakersfield Field Office plans to conduct prescribed fire operations of up to 1,000 piles of downed hazard trees, branches and understory brush at Case Mountain Extensive Recreation Management Area, southeast of Three Rivers, Tulare County, to prevent wildfire risk.

Pile burn operations will start as early as Wednesday, Nov. 29, and continue periodically until spring, depending on weather and air quality conditions, onsite observations and resource availability. Burning will take place only when weather and fuel moisture allow for safe and successful operations. The burn is being closely coordinated with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. Smoke may be visible in Three Rivers.

“Partnerships are vital to managing sustainable, working public lands,” stated Bakersfield Field Manager Gabriel Garcia. “The prescribed burn is being done as part of a CalFire grant and a joint effort of the BLM, CAL FIRE, Tulare County Resource Conservation District, tribes, private landowners and technical experts.”

The prescribed burn is part of a multi-year fuels reduction effort in the Bureau’s only giant sequoia groves to strategically thin trees; remove ladder fuels, which can feed flames to the treetops; and remove needles, branches and brush on the forest floor. The prescribed fire will help increase protection of the wildland-urban interface for the town of Three Rivers in Tulare County and improve landscape health and remove hazardous fuels near giant sequoia trees that could feed wildland fire at the recreation area.

Case Mountain encompasses approximately 18,500 acres of BLM-managed public lands and supports many sensitive plants and animals, important riverbank ecosystems, areas of cultural significance, and a 400-acre Giant Sequoia Complex with six distinct giant sequoia groves. The BLM is committed to keeping public landscapes healthy and productive.

 

For more information, please contact the BLM Bakersfield Field Office at 661-391-6000, or visit the website.