Prescott National Forest looking for women to help fight wildfires
Aug 29, 2018, 4:41 AM
(Flickr/Prescott National Forest)
(Flickr/Prescott National Forest)
PHOENIX — The Prescott National Forest is looking for women to help fight wildfires.
The department is holding a Women in Wildland Fire Boot Camp. The course will be offered over a period of two weekends: Oct. 5 to 7 and Oct. 12 to 14.
“It involves things from classroom training for the basic wildland firefighter training to field days and physical training just as if you were on a wildland fire crew,” said Cheyenne Warner, lead fire prevention technician for the Prescott National Forest.
Warner said they are looking to select 20 women to go through the boot camp. She added the most recent statistics show only 11 percent of federal permanent wildland firefighters in 2013 were women.
Though the focus for the boot camp is on women, men can also participate.
After the boot camp, participants will be on-call to provide emergency support for wildfires during the 2019 season. The main duty stations will be located in Phoenix and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“You’ll be signed up as an emergency firefighter for an on-call basis,” Warner said. “But we’re also setting you up for success to apply for that first wildland fire job as a temporary employee.”
Applications are due on Friday. To apply, visit the Prescott National Forest website. No prior experience is needed.
“If you even have an inkling of wanting to think about doing wildland fires, I would say apply,” she said.
