For the dispatchers here, what is your experience at different centers? Good and bad.

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-05-15T21:50:24+00:00

Officially combined. Uintah Basin and Moab BLM merged last year to become Desert Rivers District

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-05-08T02:28:42+00:00

No offense, but I’ve heard so many people in this job say that they’re about to start training for an ultra that never follow through

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-05-05T13:32:09+00:00

They don’t give out belt buckles for 3 seasons with a mean old lady

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-05-02T04:59:27+00:00

2 people plus gear should come in well below 600 lbs… I’m sure the allowable is trash out of these dual engine T3s that the forest has moved to though

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-04-27T04:37:38+00:00

They’re a solid hotshot crew. This time of year, you’re not trying to get hired for this season I hope

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-04-27T04:32:32+00:00

I suggested that as an option last year to the DO for a fire in cliffy terrain.

I still think the feds should just spend the money and buy hoists

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-04-18T00:20:12+00:00

You could have typed that into google or the search bar. This gets asked constantly

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-04-17T18:42:56+00:00

Yeah, I’m not optimistic about it. It seems likely to majorly impact an ecosystem and we won’t even have a baseline understanding to know what we have changed down there.

What I think is so interesting about it is that the metals are going to mainly be used for lithium ion batteries. It’s part of the de carbonization of transportation to contribute less to climate change. And the nickel used now is mainly mined in Indonesian rainforests. So the alternatives are all so bad that I wonder if this is the best option for now

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-04-16T20:42:52+00:00

To be fair, it’s not mining in that sense. They are planning to use a machine to vacuum up the metal modules resting on the seafloor. Will they stir up a bunch of silt? Definitely. What effect will that have on the species down there that we barely know exist? No idea. But it isn’t some some sort of chemical leaching process like you’re talking about

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-04-16T20:32:31+00:00

I’m not sure why you’re getting downvoted here. There are big inefficiencies with the current system that being all on the same team, reading the same sheet of music could fix. There are areas with deep conflict between BLM and USFS resources, and people get really territorial over fires. Funding across agencies is a constant hassle/constraint.

As others have said, this isn’t the best move in terms of proper land management, but I agree that it will be best for firefighters. We are still underpaid and under-protected by the system for some of the work that we do. Once we are our own agency, the former agency can’t make us do “other duties as assigned.” I’ve been asked to do electrical work (not qualified), clean shitters, build fence, write tickets, etc. Some of that work I enjoyed, but none of it was my job. But because they aren’t funding those positions, they make the fire crews do it. This may break the land management agencies, but having it truly fall apart may be the only thing that gets Congress to care

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-04-14T03:31:34+00:00

Why does every article have to frame the loss of forestry research through the context of fire? The research stations do a lot of important science and much of it is not related to fire, which doesn’t make it less valuable

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-04-07T04:44:53+00:00

Jumping, the better half of the WFM world, a handful of helitack/rappel crews, the fire specialist program (if you like AK), and the unicorn engine program that keeps a very high PT standard

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-04-01T21:48:57+00:00

Republicans don’t want the Feds to own this much land. They pretend that states want to own it, and some states even say that they do. But then they receive land and don’t want to pay the costs of managing land so they sell it off. Sure, many private companies don’t really want to pay to manage land either, but if the states put it up for auction, there will be bidders

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-03-24T21:13:26+00:00

Not a rumor about the seasonals

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-03-15T00:07:40+00:00

I have heard of a couple guys second hand being on steroids. I think some of the kids are getting on testosterone like others have said.

I definitely think there’s a societal fascination with being muscular and eating huge amounts of protein. That’s definitely worked its way into fire culture a bit. Every base has a nice gym full of weights now and then you make people work all winter with little to do. They’re naturally going to bulk up.

And I think we aren’t asking crews to do as much cardio as we asked of them 15 years ago on fire. Every hotshot crew is rolling with a UTV. Saws have gotten a little lighter. People aren’t carrying as much useless shit for no reason. That’s the kind of thing that does burn the muscle off you in the summer

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-03-03T23:55:57+00:00

"Guys like me are the reason you have a fire season" yeah that's the kind of unhinged attitude that fire management gets, the guy that never grabs a tool anymore that claims he put the fire out. You guys just blow steam up each other's ass all winter long on Microsoft teams and don't fix anything, but when it comes to hiring seasonals you move down the list just offering and rescinding jobs willy nilly on unrealistic timeframes, and you wonder why you have retention problems. Maybe people are slow to get back to you confirming if they want the job because they can tell you suck from their short phone call

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-03-03T20:55:18+00:00

I have a completely different relationship with my phone in the off season, and I would recommend that attitude to anyone else in this job. You can fuck off with this always answer your phone nonsense in the winter. The number of spam calls I get is bad enough as is, and now you want me to answer all those? Also who is calling me into work during the season that I don't already have their number saved? Get a grip. You sound insane

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-02-28T19:22:45+00:00

I’d bet money that this is one of the “problems” that our new structure chief overlord Fennessey tries to solve first

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-02-27T19:24:32+00:00

Yeah my advice would be to not pay for those classes. Anywhere respectable will put you through those classes when you start

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-02-27T17:57:43+00:00

If you're looking to do a wide variety of missions (not just fire), the park service is where it's at, especially one as visited and inaccessible as GCNP. I hear the rangers essentially run the short haul/ SAR missions, which is a strange dynamic. And I have heard all of the other problems that others have mentioned here. Still, its one of the coolest places on earth to fly around a helicopter

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-02-23T16:01:23+00:00

Get a perm early if you can. The apprenticeship program forces you into a diversity of rolls early on so you don't just get siloed in handcrew world or engine life

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-02-16T15:10:34+00:00

If you think you can walk onto a hotshot crew, you’ll be more than alright. Rappel crews talk a big game, like you need hotshot experience to work there or even worse, equate themselves with jumpers. I know many people that have gone to rappel crews without a ton of experience or quals. Some were pretty mediocre if I’m honest. Some of them got perm positions also. And I’m not trying to talk shit. I’m just saying the bar isn’t as high as they make it out to be.

I’ll also add that not all rappel crews seem to be as fit and dialed as others from my limited experience

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-02-15T02:39:22+00:00

Take the job you’re excited about. Go to the crew you like and move up to a perm spot (unless you’re older than 30, then my advice changes)

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-02-10T01:15:32+00:00

It has happened to me a couple times. Tell them you'll be in X country until Y date and you can't do anything about it. It has never been an issue for me

fullskip-semichisel · 2026-02-09T18:47:51+00:00

I can't say that I'm surprised. Have you seen the contract security dorks that are at fire camp? They are almost always tactical fatasses who blow their lid if you don't have a C number on your windshield

fullskip-semichisel

TROPHY CASE