Women in WildFire: From Middle School Math to Wildland Firefighting the Skills Still Apply

Redding, Cali., October 25, 2024 — Envision yourself as a middle school math teacher who loves the outdoors and is not satisfied with your current career path. That’s exactly the situation Brenna Jones found herself in nearly 7 years ago.  Her job as a teacher felt stagnant, with little opportunity for growth.  Teaching the same curriculum year after year, while rewarding, had started to wear thin. In 2017 Jones heard about an exciting opportunity to join a one-week training camp to learn more about wildland firefighting and a career in natural resource management during a one-week training camp. No commitment on the back end, just a week to learn more about a different career that engages ones love of the outdoors, physical fitness, and teamwork. Would you take the week to try something new?

“I was coming from a female dominated career and thinking a male dominated career in wildland fire. The fact that it was put on by women and for women drew me towards the training,” she said.

Jones applied for and attended the 2017 Women in WildFire Training Camp on the Los Padres National Forest. Although excited about the training, she didn’t anticipate the training would change her career path.

“I thought it would be something cool I would do for a week and see if it was even something I was interested in,” Jones explained.

After returning from camp, Jones considered it for a few months and decided that it was the switch she was going to make.

“I have not looked back since then. I do miss teaching, but I use those skills in my current job working with a module or a crew to teach and train people.”

After finishing the school year, Jones started as a seasonal Forestry Technician on an engine crew with the Shasta Lake Ranger District of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The next season she got an apprenticeship position. During the apprenticeship program, she worked on a hotshot crew, various Helitack crews, and in fire prevention. Jones currently works as a Squad Leader on Helicopter-506 and is leading the effort of the Women in WildFire Training Camp.

Opportunities are not just limited to her day job. Jones explained.

“One of the most meaningful parts of my career to date is that while working for the United States Forest Service is that I am a national resource and can support firefighting and prescribed fire efforts throughout the United States and in Canada.”

This means that firefighters are able to travel beyond their home units to assist other forests and organizations in firefighting efforts.

“In 2018, I was on a hotshot crew that went to fight wildfires in Canada, and this is a unique opportunity available to federal employees, you don’t have these same opportunities working for state, local, or private companies.”

The 2025 Women in WildFire Training Camp will host 24 participants. Some of them will be selected from the alternate pool if slots open due to cancellations. Training will showcase the physical and tactical components of wildland firefighting all in the name of teamwork and comradery. The goal is to expose women to the career opportunities that the United States Forest Service has and prepare the attendees to be competitive applicants for the next phase of entry level firefighting hiring positions.

Women in Wildfire training goes beyond the physical, Jones said.

“We need physical strength in wildland fire, but we also need someone willing to think and gain knowledge. We are looking for people who like hard physical work but are also interested in studying tactics and learning strategies, and skills to help manage our forests.”

Women from past camps have gone into wildland fire on engines, hand crews, and helicopters. Others have found careers in timber, law enforcement, and administration for the United States Forest Service.

While wildland firefighting is not for everyone, the diversity of positions in land management and administration provides a wealth of opportunities outside of firefighting.

Empowerment, teamwork and a new career are just a few of the things you can find if selected to attend the Shasta-Trinity National Forest’s Women in Wildfire Training Camp in 2025. Brenna Jones is passionate about providing opportunities for women within the United States Forest Service and part of that is showing them that they have what it takes to do the work and be a member of the crew.

If you are nervous about applying, Brenna has some good advice for you.

 “Just do it,” she said.

A career in wildland fire can be achieved by many that are able and willing to push themselves. The team atmosphere allows women to achieve success together, Jones explained.

“At the end of the camp every participant will walk away with a better working knowledge of what the USFS does, the crew life of wildland firefighters, and with lifelong friendships.”

To this day she still keeps in touch with other participants from her week at camp and continues to receive mentorship on career development from a few of the instructors from the 2017 training camp, she said.

If this network of strong women cheering on and supporting one another is the style of comradery and workforce you want, then apply today for the Women in WildFire Training Camp.

Applications for the Women in WildFire Training Camp are open now and will close Nov. 1, 2024. The training camp will be hosted on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest on March 30 – April 4, 2025. For more information visit the Shasta-Trinity National Forest website at www.fs.usda.gov/stnf.

USDA Forest Service Press Release

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