The BC Wildfire service is recruiting wildland firefighters ahead of next year’s fire season.
The firefighters will be spread across the entire province, depending on where the needs are.
Wildfire Technician Eric Kopetski was asked if they’re hiring more people, given the past few fire seasons.
“Not yet no,” he said. “We’re just going to stick to our regular numbers.”
“For now anyway, we’re projecting about 200 vacancies which is somewhat typical for us.”
His focus will be to increase the number of firefighters in the Cariboo region.
“It changes every year, and the recruiting process that we have is a provincial process,” added Kopetski. “So, we have crews spread out all over the province.”
He noted they usually have about 1,000 firefighters across B.C. during the wildfire season.
The new recruits typically work from early May to the end of September, with a few continuing on into the fall, depending on the need.
After the first year, some might be recalled, which may eventually lead to a year-round job with the BC Wildfire service.
Kopetski says the deadline for applications is January 15, and you can apply online.