MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. — The USDA Forest Service is hosting two virtual job fairs to recruit wildland firefighters for the Mendocino National Forest’s On-Call, or OC, Wildland Fire Program.

The job fairs will be on Tuesday, Nov. 30, from 1 to 3 p.m., and Wednesday, Dec. 15, from 10 a.m. to noon.

The two virtual job fairs will be identical in format and will cover the OC program, training opportunities and the hiring process.

The Mendocino National Forest sponsors 10 OC crews for fire suppression, forest staffing, fuels projects and other duties. Each crew consists of 15 on-call personnel and three to five agency personnel.

The forest will have hiring events in January 2022 and provide basic fire training in February and March. Crews will be paid during training.

After training is completed, crews must complete an arduous pack test before being rostered for the upcoming 2022 fire year.

“Becoming a wildland firefighter is a great career opportunity for anyone who likes to be outdoors, hike, travel and gain leadership skills,” said Shilo Springstead, fire training officer.

Participants can register for the program and job fair at https://bit.ly/MNF-fire-register.

The virtual job fairs will be held online via Microsoft Teams at https://bit.ly/MNF-job-fair.