As of 28 February 2025, the FireUp job board hosts 263 fire and forestry employers across ten industry types, with 2,069+ active job postings. In February, state agencies added 214 jobs, while federal agencies removed 217 jobs, following the federal government funding freeze and mass layoffs. Read on for more on job and talent trends in our network.

In February, funding and hiring freezes, and mass layoffs, affected all fire and forestry related agencies as the Trump-Vance administration brings “workforce optimization” to the federal government’s functioning. Paradoxically, these Executive Orders come on the heels of one of America’s costliest disasters in modern history–the devastating LA County fires. It is clear that ongoing trends in wildfire impacts necessitate an expanded, cross-trained, and year-round fire and forestry workforce across all levels of partnership.

As of 31 January 2025, the FireUp job board hosts 261 fire and forestry employers across ten industry types, with 1,770+ active job postings. The western United States continues to have the highest concentration of active employers and jobs. The January 2025 LA disaster has likely further contributed to this trend as both public and private companies respond to the wildfires and assist communities with recovery.

In the first weeks of 2025, Los Angeles County, California, experienced catastrophic impacts from multiple wildfires, estimated to be the most devastating and costliest disaster in America’s modern history. Our thoughts and prayers are with the affected communities, first responders, and frontline crews tirelessly working to respond, recover, and rebuild homes and lives devastated by these fires. 

As of December, the FireUp job board hosts 257 fire and forestry employers across ten industry types, with 1,500 active job postings daily. The western United States reflects the highest concentration of active employers and jobs. 144 job applications were submitted through the FireUp job board in November, with the greatest number of applications going to jobs in California. The top employers to receive applications from FireUp’s job board this month were the County of Los Angeles, followed by the Northwest Youth Corps, California Conservation Corps, Conservation Legacy, Western Fire Chiefs Association, Gridware, the Bureau of Land Management, and the State of Washington.

As the new administration takes office in 2025, fire and forestry work faces both challenges and opportunities. In recent years, the twin crises of escalating wildfire impacts and workforce retention have exposed critical gaps in our nation’s wildfire mitigation and land management systems. To meet these challenges, a bold policy agenda must prioritize system-wide workforce expansion, cross-training, and modernization. The Trump-Vance administration must democratize access to whole-person development, lifelong learning, and career mobility with more opportunities for upskilling and pathways for non-degree credentials. This revitalization of the fire and forestry workforce system must be implemented through private and non-profit partnerships already leading the way in ensuring that fire and forestry careers are dignified, sustainable, and capable of securing a future for all American workers.

In October, we celebrated some significant milestones. The FireUp job board now hosts 255 fire and forestry employersacross ten industry types, we’ve surpassed 10,000 page visits, and enabled at least 350 applications from the FireUp Job Board!

Vance Russell, Principal at 3point.xyz shares his thoughts on why we need to be leveraging forest restoration funds to increase capacity and scale implementation.

FireUp’s emerging talent pool includes diverse professionals across a variety of job fields and career stages, who can meet various organizational needs across the fire, forestry, and land management sectors. Read about workforce trends we’re seeing from our growing talent network here.

FireUp’s Job Description Templates make it easy for you to customize and post jobs that align with talent’s interest and career objectives!

FireUp’s Resume Template can make it easy for you to apply for a range of jobs. We hope the builder/parser tool will help you create a well-rounded resume that can be conveniently parsed by employers and Applicant Tracking Systems.

I am so pleased to share my vision for FireUp and invite your participation in building America's first career platform exclusively dedicated to the fire and forestry industry.

As we continue to refine our platform, we're committed to providing valuable data and insights to help both job seekers and employers succeed.

Read about takeaways for job seekers and employers in this blog post and feel free to reach out with questions and ideas at hello@fire-up.net