About Us
Vision:
To provide a highly trained, motivated, and safety minded team of diverse fire and all risk personnel to serve the citizens of the United States of America.
Mission:
The Bureau of Land Management's Veteran Crews are, "specifically designed and configured to employ veterans and provide career opportunities in fire and other land management or natural resource careers." We are a highly effective team which can improvise, adapt, and overcome challenges brought forth. Continually train and evolve to meet and exceed the needs of past, present, and future fire and all risk management. Create and maintain an atmosphere that is conducive to fostering personal growth, team growth, and continually overcoming physical, and mental challenges. Maintaining a transparent, highly reliable organizational culture.
Crew Duties:
The Folsom Lake Hand Crew strives to maintain a positive team dynamic, and in all reality much like a family. Have pride in yourself and your co-workers. Learn, grow, struggle, and excel as a team. Our expectation is that everyone has unique attributes that when all coupled together produce exceptional results. Safety is paramount in our team, and this lies in everyone to carry forth with. Since our functions are the most diverse within our occupation, adaptability and skill sets brought forth by you, contribute to the overall wellness of our team.
Crew Station/facilities:
Our station is located at 6051 Gold Hill Rd. Placerville, CA 95667. We currently do not offer barracks however there are usually rooms available for rent in the nearby towns of Placerville, Cool, and Auburn. Please reach out for more information regarding living arrangements.
Training:
Training is of the upmost importance to us as a crew. Recruiting from the already disciplined and experienced Veteran community we recognize that our entry level firefighters are joining us hungry for the next challenge. We strive to meet this inherent call to duty within our Veterans with as many training classes and assignments that we can safely implement.
Daily Operations:
We operate as an 18-22-person Type 2IA Hand crew. Our crew has fought fire in a wide variety of fuel types throughout the Western United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. You can usually find us on very steep and rugged terrain on the most demanding parts of the fire.
Recruitment and Hiring
Job announcements: Contact us either by phone or e-mail to get put on our email list and be sure to check USAJobs for seasonal announcements.
Crew specific hiring/recruitment information:
Brent Webb (Assistant Superintendent)
916-936-6582
btwebb@blm.gov
Hiring or outreach events: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we are not holding any outreach events currently however, we are always available online or by phone.
Physical Fitness
Physical fitness is the most important way to prepare for the fire season. It is known to be one of the most effective defenses against heat-related illnesses and injuries commonly encountered on the job. The higher the level of physical fitness that we can attain individually during the pre-season the safer and more capable we will be, collectively, during the fire season. For this reason, we believe that maintaining an extraordinary level of fitness year-round is an essential part of our job, and it continues to be an important part of our program on the Folsom Lake Veterans' Crew. We do physical fitness sessions daily consisting of running, hiking, strength training and calisthenics.
History
The Bureau of Land Management's Veteran Crew program started in 2012 to focus on providing jobs for military veterans in service to America’s public lands as Wildland Firefighters. Since its inception, the Folsom Lake Veterans’ Crew has provided over 100 temporary seasonal jobs. Some of our crew members have hired on to permanent positions within our crew or other BLM offices as well as federal, state, and municipal agencies.
Contact Us
Kenneth C. Worthington (FLVC Squad Leader)
kworthington@blm.gov
Roger Hooper (Assistant Superintendent)
rhooper@blm.gov
