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Priest Lake Supervisory Area
Dan Brown, Area Manager
4053 Cavanaugh Bay Rd.
Coolin, ID 83821
(208) 443-2516

About the crew

This is a 210,000-acre fire protection district that averages 18 fires a season. There is a crew of 10 with 3 engine modules.

Terrain

Heavily timbered forests located along the shores of Priest Lake and up to the Selkirk Divide.

Housing

We have on site bunkhouse style housing and trailer pads with water and power hookups

Cataldo Forest Protective District
80 Hilltop Overpass Rd.
Kingston, ID 83839
(208) 682-4611

About the crew

Primarily engines with an emphasis on hand crew and single resource off-district assignments. The crew is made up of 8-11 firefighters.

Qualifications

Responsible for initial attack, be at lease 18 years old with a valid driver’s license, and be willing to participate on a team.

Fuel load

Heavy timber and logging slash

Fire Activity

Moderate; 10-30 fires per season

Terrain

Steep mountains

Housing

No housing available.

Kootenai Valley
Forest Protective District (KV)
6327 Main St.
Bonners Ferry, ID 83805
(208) 267-5577

About the crew

Primarily engine based with 2 type 5 engines and a third engine that splits time between KV and POL. We will roster and send crewmembers on 20-person handcrews if fire danger is low enough locally. We also staff 3 positions on the KV/POL 6-person support module.

Fully staffed we are 14 crewmembers plus an Assistant Warden, and Warden.

KV is great area for hiking, fishing, boating, and all kinds of recreation. KV has experienced leadership that promote employee development, teamwork, crew cohesion, firefighting knowledge, and safety.

Fuel load

Primarily timber, but do respond to some grassland/farmland fires that threaten timber.

Fire Activity

KV averages 17.5 fires per season. These are mostly escaped human-caused debris burns. Peak fire season is July 4 through the fires significant rain in September/October.

Terrain

Lower 1/3 of mountains and valley bottoms. Very scenic.

Crew responsibilities and/or qualifications 

For entry level firefighter: pack test, I-9 applicant eligibility, have wildland boots, and good attitude.

For our 1385s, we would like to see them at or near ICT5 and FFT1 qualification and ideally at a CRWB(t) or ENGB(t) level.

Housing

We currently offer housing for up to 3 KV personnel for the duration of the fire season. It is a bunkhouse style apartment that we lease from one of the local fire districts. We also have lands available for camping for those adventurous folks that love to be outside for the summer. Additional housing potential in future.

Ponderosa Supervisory Area
Chris Tretter, Area Manager
3130 Highway 3
Deary, ID 83823

History of the Fire Crew

The Ponderosa employs a crew if 12 spread out across 3 engines. Among them, are 3 fully qualified engine captains, 2 of whom are also crewboss qualified. These engine captains are responsible for supervising and training the seasonal crewmembers throughout the season. Once assigned to a particular engine crew at the beginning of the season, the seasonal crewmembers can expect to work with that same crew for the entirety of the season, unless staffing requirements necessitate a crew member swap.

We are actively seeking motivated individuals who are interested in working in a team environment and enjoy working outdoors. While having an interest in pursuing a career in fire is a plus, it is not a requirement. However, all crewmembers must be able to complete the work capacity test, also known as the pack test, which consists of a 3-mile walk carrying 45 pounds within a 45-minute timeframe. Additionally, our crewmembers must be comfortable working with a diverse group of individuals from various backgrounds in high stress situations.

We expect all our employees to be available for national fire assignments should the opportunity arise. These assignments may require our crewmembers to travel to regions of the country with higher fire danger or a larger fire load. Typically, these assignments last 14 days (16-18 including travel). However, some assignments may be cut short due to changes in fire activity.

If you complete a full 2 week assignment, you will be given a mandatory 2 days of rest and relaxation ( R&R), which will be paid if it does not coincide with your regularly scheduled days off. These assignments provide the greatest financial opportunities and allow for the best opportunity to experience firefighting on the largest scale.

Employees are expected to be available for local fires 24/7 unless they are on mandatory R&R or have made prior arrangements with their supervisor.

At the Ponderosa, our top priority is to create a work environment that employees look forward to returning to each season. We believe that crew cohesiveness plays a crucial role in achieving this goal. To this end, we strive to make our training programs as constructive as possible while still ensuring that they are entertaining and enjoyable for our employees.

We offer training opportunities to those who show initiative and a desire to take the next steps towards leadership in wildland firefighting. In addition, we encourage our employees to build meaningful relationships with one another outside of work.

Our success in employee retention is a direct result of our efforts to create an environment that our employees want to work in and return to. We are committed to maintaining this positive and productive work culture for all our employees.

Fire Activity

The Ponderosa District typically experiences around 15-20 fires a year not including mutual aid with rural departments. Including mutual aid responses, the number would be closer to 30. In recent years, we have seen an increase in the occurrence of type 3 fires, with almost one such fire per year on average. These fires are larger, more complex, and have higher intensities. In contrast 20 years ago, we had never had a fire over 1000 acres, whereas now, we experience one nearly every 2 years.

Fuel Load and Terrain

The Ponderosa District has one of the most diverse fuel loadings in the state, encompassing a variety of terrains and industries. In some areas, there are mountainous, heavily forested regions with active logging sites that produce heavy slash loading. Other areas consist of thousands of acres of agricultural farmland, characterized by rolling hills that can produce high intensity, fast moving fires. In the southern part of the district, there are thousands of acres of steep canyon ground, which are particularly susceptible to rapid fire growth due to the terrain and light flashy fuel types.

Housing

The Ponderosa Engine Crews do not provide housing. Not to be confused with the limited housing provided for Teakean Crew members. (There are apartments in Moscow that provide month to month leases)

Craig Mountain
Forest Protective District
014 E. Lorahama
Craigmont, ID 83523
(208) 924-5571

About the crew

Craig Mountain runs 3 engine modules staffed with 5 people each. These are primarily used as initial attack resources which, depending on the fire season on district, can be sent off district to anywhere in the nation. If opportunities present themselves, crew assignments are sometimes available as well in order to get people experience in another aspect of fire. Qualifications that are desirable but not required include; incident commander type 5, firefighter type 1, and engine boss.

Terrian

It varies greatly across the district with steep canyon country in the Snake, Salmon, and Clearwater river canyons, which all run through our district. These canyons can have elevation changes of up to 4000 feet. On the top of these canyons there are timbered areas such as Joseph Plains and the Craig Mountains which are more moderate in elevation change. In the middle of our district is the Camas Prairie which consists of flatter country and is covered with farm fields, grassy draws, and patches of timber.

Fuel load

Craig Mountain has a wide variety of fuel loading including grassy canyons with timber on the north slopes, timber covered mountain tops, and farm fields with grassy draws across the prairie.

Fire Activity

We average 25-30 fires a year with fire season typically starting late June and going through September. The majority of the fires are type 5 and type 4 but it is not out of the ordinary to have type 3 or type 2 fires such as the Snake River Complex which burned approximately 109,000 acres on our district in 2021.

Housing

We have two trailers and can house six to eight people in them. We also have two RV hookups available.