All Women’s Fire Crew Success in Yosemite National Park

Women’s Conservation Corps Crew stops for a photo at Olmstead Point at Yosemite National Park.

NPS

During summer 2021, Yosemite National Park was selected by the National Park Service (NPS) Fire Management Leadership Board (FMLB) as one of two national park units to host a six-person all-women fire crew for 10 weeks. The project was funded by the National Park Foundation through a grant provided by Recreational Equipment, Incorporated (REI). The six women for Yosemite were selected through a competitive application process conducted by the California Conservation Corps (CCC). Some arrived with previous fire experience and qualifications, others were brand new to wildland fire.

The six CCC women arrived in Yosemite National Park (YOSE) on June 2, 2021. At their initial orientation the women were asked what their expectations were for the next 10 weeks, and what they hoped to leave with. Almost all of them said they looked forward to being in YOSE, learning new skills, working on wildfires, and getting good exposure to what the work entails. By the end of their assignment all their expectations were met.

Women’s Conservation Corps Crew gets supplies for setting up a spike camp for four days during fire assignments to Lukens and County Line fires.

NPS

The detail ended on August 6, 2021, with five of the women fully completing the detail. One of the six unfortunately had to leave early, and another one of the women had an ankle injury that placed her on light duty for approximately five weeks. While on light duty, the injured firefighter worked on a career ladder guide for wildland firefighters, helped with timekeeping and incident business, and worked in the fire cache. The remaining four spent a great deal of their last six weeks engaged in wildfires working closely with the wildland fire modules from Yosemite, Saguaro, Whiskeytown, and Mammoth, as well as the Arrowhead Hotshot Crew, the Horseshoe Meadow Hotshot Crew, and the Yosemite and Santa Monica engine crews.

Because Yosemite had lightning fires in late June, there were plenty of opportunities for the women’s crew to work on fires all through July and up until their last days in early August. Both the park and the CCC crewmembers felt the program was successful and if anything, 10 weeks was too short.