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Fire

Bitterroot 2026 Fire Hire Outreach Information

Temporary positions are open for the yearly hiring event known as Fire Hire. Submit applications between Dec. 31, 2025, and Jan. 14, 2026. 

The Bitterroot National Forest is hiring multiple temporary positions for the Phase 4 Temp (1039) hiring for the 2026 fire year. Position locations are in the Stevensville, Darby, Sula, and West Fork Ranger Districts and in Hamilton. Applications will be accepted between Dec. 31, 2025, and Jan. 14, 2026. 

Announcements will not be available in USAJOBS until the opening date of Dec. 31, 2025, but please spread the word so people who are interested can be prepared to click on active announcement numbers on Dec. 31. 

Hamilton, MT

Helitack 

Wildland Firefighter

Stevensville, MT

Wildland Firefighter 

Fire Engine Operation

Fuels Management

Sula, MT

Wildland Firefighter 

Fuels Management

Fire Engine Operation

Forestry Technician Lookouts (non-fire)

Darby, MT

Wildland Firefighter 

Fuels Management

Fire Engine Operation

Forestry Technician Lookouts (non-fire)

On Dec. 31, 2025, Fire Hire specific announcements can be searched in USAJOBS by keyword 26-TEMP. Applicants may also search by City, State (duty location). 

Bitterroot NF Contacts

Outreach responses should go directly to the Fire Management contacts for each Forest/and District listed below. Specific information about the position(s) and duty location(s) is available from the units. Your response is important if you are interested in filling a position through the Fire Hire process. www.fs.usda.gov/main/r1/about-region/offices

  • Bitterroot – Clint Mendenhall at clint.mendenhall@usda.gov
  • Stevensville District (Duty Station city is Stevensville, MT) - Chris Kramer, FMO 406-777-7436
  • Darby & Sula Districts (Duty Station cities of Darby and Sula, MT) Chris Marabetta, DFMO 406-821-4255
  • West Fork District (Duty Station city is Darby, MT) – Bret Lewis, DFMO 406-821-1247
  • Bitterroot Helitack (Duty Station city is Hamilton, MT)– Josh Woodard, Superintendent 406-529-2713

To have an Outreach Form emailed, and for other questions regarding overall Fire Hire process, contact Clint Mendenhall at clint.mendenhall@usda.gov or 406-544-8286. Or, click on the Outreach Form (link) at the top of the page.

Applicants are encouraged to apply to any position and duty station you may be interested in, including Location Negotiable, as those positions may become vacant throughout the Fire Hire process. Applicants who do not select the correct Duty Location or select Location Negotiable cannot be considered.

Announcements will not be available in USAJOBS until the opening date of Dec. 31, 2025.

A two-page resume is required. Resumes must not be greater than 2 pages for all applications. USAJobs will not accept resumes that are more than 2 pages and applications without a resume will not be referred to hiring managers.

Review the new resume guidance at USA Jobs Resume Guidance

How to Apply

Thoroughly read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin. Address specialized experience in your resume as denoted in “how you will be evaluated."

Create a USAJOBS account

If you do not already have one, create an account at USAJobs. As part of your profile, set up automatic email notification to be informed of status of your application as it changes.

Without automatic notification, you must log into your USAJOBS account to check on the status of your application.

Create a Resume with USAJOBS or upload a Resume into your USAJOBS account.

How do I write a resume for a federal job?

*** New to 2026 applications ***

Resumes must not be greater than 2 pages for all applications. USAJobs will not accept resumes that are more than 2 pages and applications without a resume will not be referred to hiring managers. Please review the new resume guidance.

Customize your resume to ensure it documents duties and accomplishments you have that directly relate to the position to verify qualifications are met. Your resume must directly support your responses to the online questionnaire. Preview the questionnaire at the link at the end of the “How You Will Be Evaluated” section.

Apply Online

Within the vacancy announcement for which you are applying, click “Apply Online.” Follow the prompts to complete the Questionnaire, to attach documentation, and to submit. Your application and attached documents can be edited anytime while the announcement is open by selecting “Update Application” under "Application Status.”

The following documents are examples of what may be required and/or attached to constitute a complete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents are current copies, correctly attached, within the required timeframe, and legible. Read the entire announcement for requirements.

  • Resume that includes the following information: 1) job information for which you are applying; 2) personal information; 3) education; 4) work experience, including start/stop dates and hours worked per week, grade level; and 5) other qualifications (including IQCS/IQS Master Record).
  • Check supervisor emails to ensure they are updated and correct.
  • Resumes should include document headers with the applicant’s name.
  • If a document is resubmitted, it replaces the previous submission, which means the previous document is no longer available to the Human Resources Office.
  • If you are adding to, rather than replacing a previous submission, you must upload both the old document and the new document.
  • IQCS Master Record showing your current training and qualifications.
  • College Transcripts if education is required for meeting basic qualifications and/or you are substituting education for specialized experience.
  • Certificates of courses and/or qualifications if position requires. Please read the whole USAJobs announcement.

Human Resources Office Contact Information

HRM Contact Center

Things to keep in mind when applying

  • Vacancy Announcements in USAJOBS will give examples of specialized experience for each position. Ensure your resume matches the listed specialized experience requirement in plain language. This should be listed under a work experience that shows title, series, grade, and time period (include dates and hours/week) performed so HR can properly credit. If you possess specialized experience outside your current series and grade, identify that separately for credit.
  • Ensure all required documents are attached to your application. Review them for accuracy and currency. Ensure you have a current IQCS Master Record.
  • Allow adequate time to apply for positions. The USAJobs application process takes time and detailed attention to requirements.

Other places to get further information

Wildfire & Safety

For local, Bitterroot National Forest Fire Information, please also visit our Facebook page.

Bitterroot National Forest Wildland Fire Management

The Bitterroot National Forest consists of three Ranger Districts (Stevensville, Darby/Sula, and West Fork) covering 1.6 million acres in southwest Montana and Idaho. Fifty percent of the Forest is designated wilderness, which is part of the largest expanse of continuous, pristine wilderness in the lower 48 states. This includes portions of the Selway-Bitterroot, Frank Church, River of No Return and the Anaconda Pintler. Another 25 percent of the Forest is inventoried as roadless.

Wildfire safety is critical to protecting both natural ecosystems and communities. The Forest Service plays a pivotal role in helping communities prepare for catastrophic wildfire, implementing fire prevention strategies, and responding effectively to wildfire emergencies to safeguard lives, property, and natural resources.

Community and firefighter safety is always recognized as the priority for fire management activities. Natural disturbance processes are recognized and accepted as essential to the health of ecological communities at various spatial scales. Life, investments, and valuable resources are protected using the full range of responses to wildland fire.

The Forest Service and its federal interagency partners, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Park Service (NPS), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Montana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation (DNRC), and County Fire Wardens, have entered into Fire Protection Agreements to provide the most efficient response to wildland fires. The FS and DNRC both protect federal, state, and private lands, while the counties protect primarily private lands and some scattered state lands.

The National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy has three key components: Resilient Landscapes, Fire Adapted Communities, and Safe and Effective Wildfire Response. Read more on the U.S. Forest Service Wildland Fire page to learn more about these components.

Fuels Management

Treatments & Prescribed Fire

Because of the 100 plus years of successful wildfire suppression, the forests have largely grown to unnatural and unhealthy stand densities, producing higher intensity wildfires.

Fuels treatments on the Bitterroot National Forest are designed to return the forest to the Natural Range of Variability (NRV) resulting in: NRV defined - The natural range of variability is typically defined by the period 100-200 years before European settlement and is also surmised from knowledge of natural disturbance regimes. Natural range of variability is often used to describe disturbance processes, and the ecosystem variability that these disturbances create.

  • Reduced wildfire intensity with the occurrence of wildfire.
    • Fires in the Wildland Urban Interface threaten private land and improvements. Reduced wildfire intensity provides for increased probability of success in the initial attack phase.
    • When wildfires exceed initial attack capability, fuel treatments would hopefully increase the resilience of forested landscapes, reducing the probability of stand replacement wildfire.

To do this, Fuels Management uses many tools. One such tool is using prescribed fire.

The 2025 proposed Spring prescribed burn treatment plan [ArcGIS interactive map]

2024 Fire Year in Review

Last updated December 15, 2025

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