Snake River Hotshots build new facility, bring jobs
The Snake River Hotshots are a group of firefighters that focus on any major fires across the nation. The higher the impact, the more Hotshots they send. Tuesday was the opening of their new facility for the Idaho Falls district. The facility is located in Pocatello.
This facility has been in the planning process for 12 years, and ran into several challenges, including coming up with the $2.5 million to build. But three years ago they got the funding from their national source, and they put their plans into motion.
While half the time they’ll use the facility for training and everything that goes with that, the majority of their work is spent out of the office, battling fires with the highest impact on the nation.
“Many times we’ll either fly in or hike in to a remote location and work out there long, long days,” said Randy Anderson, Superintendent for the Idaho Falls district of the Hotshots. “At night, throw your sleeping bag on the ground and catch some sleep and do it again the next day.”
The Hotshots – part of the Bureau of Land Management – have fought many of the major fires we’ve heard about, including the State Line Fire in 2013. They say this new facility isn’t going to change what they do.
“It means we have a lot better facility to come home when we are at home,” Anderson said. “We’ll work on our trucks, train and get ready for the next fire season.”
The new facility is located off what’s soon-to-be the South Valley Connector. It’s going to serve as the main headquarters to coordinate efforts to fight any type of major wildfire we have in our area.
“It’s a tough job,” said Joel Gosswiller, fire management officer for the BLM. “It’s not for everybody. So every year we go through a huge hiring process to bring on new folks, but I’m sure we will have a few openings this year and everyone is encouraged to apply.”
The Hotshots are hiring right now. To apply, follow this link: usajobs.gov and search for keywords “wildland firefighter.”
They are usually done hiring around February or March, and the firefighters usually travel all over the U.S. fighting fires during the summer, a total of five months of employment.
