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Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists: Job Description

Enforce fire regulations, inspect forest for fire hazards, and recommend forest fire prevention or control measures. May report forest fires and weather conditions.

The Daily Work of Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists Do?

Typical responsibilities of forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists span:

• Relay messages about emergencies, accidents, locations of crew and personnel, and fire hazard conditions.
• Conduct wildland firefighting training.
• Estimate sizes and characteristics of fires, and report findings to base camps by radio or telephone.
• Direct crews working on firelines during forest fires.
• Locate forest fires on area maps, using azimuth sighters and known landmarks.
• Extinguish smaller fires with portable extinguishers, shovels, and axes.
• Patrol assigned areas, looking for forest fires, hazardous conditions, and weather phenomena.
• Compile and report meteorological data, such as temperature, relative humidity, wind direction and velocity, and types of cloud formations.

Skills and Knowledge

Top forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Most Important Skills

The competencies that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Top Knowledge Areas

Related Job Titles

Common job titles for this role include:

• District Ranger
• Environmental Protection Fire Control Officer
• Fire Management Officer
• Fire Management Technician
• Fire Observer
• Fire Operations Forester
• Fire Prevention Officer
• Fire Prevention Technician

Job Outlook

There are about 455,178 forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists working in the United States today. Employment is projected to grow by +8.2% over the projection horizon.

How Much Do Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists Make?

Statistic	Value
Annual median	$44,909
Hourly median	$21.59
10th percentile	$24,743
25th percentile	$34,826
75th percentile	$54,992
90th percentile	$65,075

Compensation varies based on experience, location, and industry.

Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists Salary by State

State	Annual median salary
California	$90,290
Oklahoma	$79,350
Utah	$77,480
Louisiana	$74,650
Oregon	$70,910
Maine	$66,310
New Jersey	$57,950
Colorado	$53,500
Washington	$51,370
Florida	$48,900
Georgia	$46,170
Arkansas	$42,260
Alabama	$34,920
Mississippi	$26,460

Pay by U.S. Region

Pay for forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists differ across the country. The following regions pay the most:

Region	Median annual wage	Share of U.S. jobs	Location quotient
Far Western US	$84,960	20.7%	1.47
Southwest	$79,350	17.1%	10.94
New England	$66,310	3.1%	5.08
Rocky Mountains	$59,255	13.0%	3.26
Middle Atlantic	$57,950	6.7%	1.74
Southeast	$45,398	39.4%	3.74

Top Metro Areas

Metro area	State	Median annual wage	Employment
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	CA	$122,760	40
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	CA	$108,400	40
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	CA	$99,600	60
Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	UT	$77,480	40
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	NY	$61,820	100
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	WA	$56,850
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	CO	$53,500	60
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	FL	$52,460	30

Tools and Technology

• Cloud-based management software: Amazon Web Services AWS CloudFormation (hot technology)
• Data base user interface and query software: Amazon Web Services AWS software (hot technology)
• Expert system software: Ansible software (hot technology)
• Application server software: Docker (hot technology)
• Web page creation and editing software: Facebook (hot technology)
• File versioning software: Git (hot technology)
• Application server software: Kubernetes (hot technology)
• Operating system software: Linux (hot technology)
• Web platform development software: Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP (hot technology)
• Development environment software: Microsoft Azure software (hot technology)
• Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
• Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)

Work Environment

Daily working conditions for forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists is shaped by the following characteristics:

• Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
• Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results
• Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
• Contact With Others
• Telephone Conversations

Education and Training

Entry-level forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. The role falls in Medium Preparation Needed (Job Zone 3), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.

Other Careers to Consider

Similar Occupations

• Emergency Management Directors (Primary-Long)
• Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors (Supplemental)
• Fire-Prevention and Protection Engineers (Primary-Short)
• Range Managers (Primary-Long)
• Foresters (Primary-Long)
• Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health (Supplemental)
• Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health (Supplemental)
• Forest and Conservation Technicians (Primary-Short)

References

This profile draws on the following authoritative sources:

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
• BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
• O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 33-2022.00 (Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists).