Dakota Prairie Grasslands

Fire and Aviation

Links to wildfire information and assistance:

As residents and visitors enjoy summer, fire management organizations want the public to easily know what fire restrictions and closures may be in place. A new public web site, www.firerestrictions.org, has been created to communicate wildland fire restriction and closure information in the Northern Rockies during the 2008 wildland fire season. The Northern Rockies includes Montana, Idaho, North Dakota and Northwest South Dakota.

As weather continues to become warmer and dryer, we urge individuals to be fire safe as they work and recreate outdoors.

Inciweb - National Wildfire Information

The InciWeb is a new tool (not yet used by all Incident Teams) where you can go to select fire information by state, size of fire in acres, or by name of the fire incident.

The National Interagency Fire Center

The National Interagency Fire Center is hosting the National Fire News Page web site, a new service to provide the public access to current wildland fires by state, daily stats, year-to-date information, averages and more. The site is structured in an easy-to-navigate style, with national, state and incident (individual fire) level pages. This is a national support center for wildland firefighting.

The Northern Rockies Coordination Center (NRCC)

The Northern Rockies Coordination Center (NRCC) website offers current information regarding wildland fire incidents, current situation reports and logistics as well as detailed incident information on any wildland fire in the Northern Rockies Region. The site also offers specific information on any wildland closures or restrictions which may be in effect.

National Incident Information Center

Start your search here for information on fires and other natural disasters that occur nationwide. The Morning Report is published daily during fire season and provides information on the current wildland fire situation, burned area rehabilitation activities, regional fire summaries, weather reports and closure orders for fires 500 acres and larger. The Large Fire Map (again, for large incidents greater than 500 acres) is a fast start for finding fire information across the nation.

The Geospatial Multi-Agency Coordination Group (GeoMAC) website features detailed maps of wildland fire throughout the nation. The site offers interactive mapping abilities as well as links to individual fire data and reports. Maps available on this site are helpful for those seeking to view them on their personal computer screen.

The Northern Rockies Coordination Group (NRCG)

The Northern Rockies Coordination Group (NRCG) is established to provide an interagency approach to wildland fire management and all-risk support on all land ownerships within the States of Montana, North Dakota, northern Idaho, and a small portion of South Dakota and Wyoming. The purpose of NRCG is to further interagency cooperation, communications, coordination, and to provide interagency fire management direction and all-risk support for the Northern Rockies Geographic Area.

Fire Hire

Link to Washington Office FIRE EMPLOYMENT

Firefighters, scientists, resource managers, communications and computer technicians, business managers...Fire & Aviation offers job opportunities as diverse as the Forest Service itself!

As the name implies, Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management is a wide field, encompassing firefighters, fire ecologists, fuels specialists, fire managers, administrative personnel, helicopter and fixed wing pilots, aviation and ground safety professionals, radio communications and electronic technicians, dispatchers, fire prevention specialists, and communicators. Generally, the Forest Service workforce reaches its highest numbers during the peak fire season each summer. There are many kinds of schedules available to work. Some sign on for a limited number of hours during the summer - they are called seasonals. Others have permanent seasonal positions, and work 26 weeks with 26 weeks off. Others work full time, year around, but have limited appointments or a "not to exceed" time limit of one to four years. And there is a large permanent, full time workforce as well — that have chosen Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management for their career.

Individuals who want to be seasonal firefighters need to think about wildland firefighting in January. That's when most applications are due. Anyone interested in a job (permanent or temporary) with the Forest Service, or other federal agencies, can check the Office of Personnel Management listing, US Forest Service Temporary Employment and FS Jobs web sites to see what vacancies are open.

The US Forest Service is implementing a new application program for nationwide centralized recruitment notices. Applicants can apply online.