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Help wanted: 130 new firefighters Severe 2000 season sparks national plan to increase staff By Paul Fattig In an effort to bolster the ranks of local wildland firefighters, officials at the Rogue River and Siskiyou national forests are hiring more than 130 firefighters for the 2001 fire season. Plans call for staffing 65 new positions on the Rogue River forest and 69 on the Siskiyou, said Shirley Ewing, equal employment manager for the two forests. Of those to be hired, 21 are permanent positions with the rest being temporary firefighting positions, she said. Positions include everything from fire fighting to fire prevention, from engine crews to fire lookout staff. A 20-person "hot shot" crew is also expected to be created from among the new employees. The elite firefighting crew will be based at the Rogue River forest but will be used as a national resource to fight fires throughout the nation, Ewing said. Pay for the new positions ranges from $10.12 to $17.16 an hour. The local effort is part of a national Forest Service program to hire some 3,500 additional firefighters to battle blazes on national forestland. "It all goes back to the severe fire season we had," Ewing said, referring to wildfires that swept the western portion of the nation last summer. "It�s a good time to improve wildland firefighting ability and reduce fire hazards near populated areas," she added. There are currently about 65 firefighters based on the two forests. Applicants are invited to attend two open houses next week where additional information about the new positions will be provided. The first will be from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday at Rogue Community College, Riverside Campus, Employment Services Lab, 117 South Central, Medford. The second is scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday at Rogue Community College, Josephine Building, Grants Pass. Applicants should be at least 18 years old and may have to pass a physical examination, Ewing said. "Out there on the fire line with a Pulaski (ax/grub hoe) is very hard, physical work," she said. "You need to be in good shape for that." The new employees would start early next spring. For additional information, contact Rogue River forest officials at 858-2252 or Siskiyou forest officials at 471-6703. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.