ARIZONA — On July 20, 2024, 15 students from the Fred G. Acosta Job Corps Center set out from Tuscon, Ariz., on a field trip to experience incident management on a wildfire with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. Their destination was the Black Fire Incident Command Post on the nearby Tonto Basin Ranger District. 

The Forest Service has an interagency relationship with the Department of Labor to manage and operate Civilian Conservation Centers with a focus on conservation and sustaining the health, diversity and productivity of our nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. While DOL owns the overall Job Corps program, CCCs are federally operated by the Forest Service. 

The interoperability between DOL and the Forest Service is a shared stewardship and innovative approach to tackle today’s ongoing conservation challenges across the nation. 

The Black Fire started on July 11, 2024, with more than 11,000 acres burned and 400 people supporting suppression efforts. The fire was managed by the Southwest Area Complex Incident Management Team 3. 

“Students realized how an incident command post operates and how each function within ICS connects to support the important work performed by the firefighting resources,” said CorDell Taylor, fire program manager, Job Corps National Office. “Students were engaged and asked pertinent questions about how each position connected to helping support the firefighters.” 

Southwest Area Team 3 members showed students the realities and challenges they face on an incident, how they interact with other functional areas and how they each impact the outcome by supporting the fire line personnel. 

The logistics section chief explained how supplies, food and the ICP connects to provide what a firefighter or camp staff may need to do their jobs. In the supply unit, Brad Kramer, receiving and distribution manager, taught students about the vast array of items managing a fire requires – from showers to pencils, what he does every day and how firefighters order and receive their needs by filling general messages. 

Staff further explained how an Incident Action Plan is put together and what the situation unit does on the fire. Students visited and interacted with staff in fire operations, and public information. Students gained valuable knowledge into what it means to contribute to an active incident. 

Before Job Corps students can work on a fire, they must learn ICS basics through Federal Emergency Management Agency training taken as part of their trade. The next step is to sign on as camp crew members to work on a real incident where they gain valuable experience. 

Most of the students will work in the logistics section, maintaining equipment and supplies for the fire. Some of them will be assigned with the food unit or refrigerator trailer to hand out sack lunches, water and Gatorade to firefighters. 

Collaboration is a powerful method for achieving shared goals. The interagency relationship between DOL and the Forest Service within Job Corps addresses complex and interconnected issues across our public lands. Giving students the necessary tools to develop their skills will match the scale of those issues and help prepare them to take action for the future.