Fire Management Program - Carson City District Office
The BLM is a leader in our nation’s wildland fire management efforts. The Carson City District Office undertakes a broad range of activities to safely protect the public, the natural landscape, wildlife habitat and recreational areas of western Nevada & eastern California. Our local fire management program includes fire suppression, preparedness, fuels management, fire planning, prevention and education, and perhaps most significant, safety. We are also involved in community assistance and protection as a major member of the Sierra Front Wildfire Cooperators.
Employment Opportunities in Fire Management
The BLM meets these challenges by fielding highly trained and skilled professional firefighters and managers. Reducing the risk and consequence of wildland fires continues to grow in importance; however, suppression operations and safety continue to be the core of the overall fire program.
There are exciting employment opportunities in the BLM's Division of Fire and Aviation Management. At the Carson City District Office there are approximately 30 permanent positions, an average of 60 fire seasonal positions and 5 - 20 Emergency Firefighter (EFF also known as AD's or Casuals) positions. The exact number of seasonal and EFF positions filled depends on the funding available for each specific year.
There are many areas in which a person can specialize. These include: actual fire suppression, fuels management, dispatching firefighters and aircraft, managing aircraft and airtanker bases, and providing administrative and equipment support for the fire program. In the suppression jobs, we have firefighters operating wildland some work closely with helicopters and some work on a hotshot crews building firebreaks using hand tools and chainsaws.
Fuels management positions have the challenging task of using fire to restore natural ecosystems. Here fire is intentionally lit to reduce hazard fuels build up or to create a more favorable vegetation type. Dispatchers work in an indoor environment using state of the art equipment and radios to coordinate the movement and support of firefighting resources. At the airtanker bases people manage the loading of fire retardant chemicals on airtankers and coordinate their movements. In the administrative and warehouse personnel manage the payroll of firefighters, most aspects of costs of fires, and order and deliver supplies and equipment to fires. All jobs are important and many offer advancement opportunities.
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