Pueblo, Colo. — In an effort to strengthen wildfire response capabilities, the U.S. Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain region has announced plans to hire up to 50 temporary wildland firefighters and supporting staff for the 2025 fire season. The positions, which will span national forests and grasslands in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming, are part of a broader strategy to address the increasing threat of wildfires in the American West.
The USFS is seeking to fill a variety of roles, including engine operators, hotshot crew members, handcrew members, helitack crew members, fuels technicians, fire lookouts, and dispatchers. These positions are vital to ensuring that the region’s firefighting force is prepared to handle the growing challenges of fire management, which have become more unpredictable in recent years.
Applicants for these positions must submit their applications by March 13, with base salaries ranging from $35,000 to $45,000 per year. Interested candidates can find more information and apply through the USAJobs.gov portal.
The announcement comes in the wake of significant staffing reductions within the USFS, which recently laid off approximately 2,000 probationary, non-firefighting employees. These workers were responsible for critical tasks such as maintaining trails and removing combustible debris from forests—key activities in preventing and managing wildfires. The recent firings have raised concerns about the impact on wildfire prevention efforts, as fewer personnel will be available to address the growing fire risks across the region.
The cutbacks also come on the heels of similar job losses within the National Park Service, where approximately 1,000 probationary employees were let go. These employees included those in secondary firefighting roles, further straining the nation’s wildfire preparedness efforts.
Experts have warned that the reduced staffing could contribute to even more destructive wildfires in the coming years. Mike Worcester, a wildland support specialist with West Metro Fire, recently highlighted the increasing risks faced by Colorado’s residents in the wildland-urban interface. In an interview with Scripps News Group, Worcester emphasized that wildfires can quickly escalate when structures are involved, noting that resources are often stretched thin when tackling fires that threaten homes and buildings. “There’s just not a fire season in Colorado anymore. It can happen at any time,” Worcester said.
The USFS is continuing to prioritize the development of a robust firefighting workforce to meet the challenges posed by growing fire risks. In a statement following a February 19 roundtable discussion, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to ensuring the U.S. maintains the “strongest and most prepared wildland firefighting force in the world.”
As the 2025 fire season approaches, the hiring of additional temporary firefighters will be crucial to supporting wildfire prevention and response efforts across the region.
