NPS partners with SCA for second year in a row to sponsor all-female wildland fire crews in Alaska

SCA crewmembers learning about fire hoses during training

Jason Devcich, NPS

The National Park Service (NPS) Alaska region’s wildland fire program partnered with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) for the second year in a row to sponsor all-female SCA wildland fire crews. In 2023, NPS hosted two all-female SCA fire crews in Alaska, totaling 10 women. NPS had sponsored its first all-female SCA fire crew in Alaska in 2022, and all seven women from the 2022 crew obtained full-time positions in wildland fire in 2023, with three of them now working for NPS within the Alaska Region!

Similar to 2022, NPS, with partners from the Bureau of Land Management, provided training to the 2023 crews qualifying the women as Firefighter Type 2, and initiated Faller 3 task books under standards set forth by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group.

The women used their newly learned skills to work on several important fuels reduction projects in Denali and Wrangell-St. Elias National Parks and Preserves. The work they did to create defensible space around park infrastructure by cutting and piling excess vegetation will increase resiliency and public safety in the event of future wildfires.

The crews along with two other SCA interns at Denali National Park & Preserve during SCA CEO Lidia Soto’s visit on July 25, 2023

Caron McKee, NPS

In late July into early August, the two crews went on their first wildland fire assignments in Alaska. They did protection work, cutting brush around a historic mining camp to protect it from the Ikheenjik Fire northeast of Fairbanks, and later worked at the Lost Horse Creek Fire north of Fairbanks.

In late July 2023, the SCA’s CEO, Lidia Soto, visited Alaska and spent some time with the two crews at Denali National Park and Preserve, seeing first-hand the great work the women were doing, and the value of the continued partnership between NPS and SCA.

Crewmembers have mentioned that initially learning wildland firefighting skills alongside other women, and with female instructors, empowers them to later work alongside other firefighters of all backgrounds. And in addition to training and work experience, NPS also provides ongoing mentorship to current and past crews, showcases a variety of careers in wildland fire and other related disciplines, and maintains relationships with crewmembers to set them up for career success, wherever the future takes them.

SCA crewmembers doing fuels work at Denali National Park & Preserve

Jason Devcich, NPS

Jason Devcich, Eastern Area Fire Management Officer for NPS Alaska, played a primary role in coordinating with SCA to get the 2023 crews on board, working on everything from logistics and training, to project assignments and mentoring. He stated, “I am grateful to be a participant in this partnership between SCA and NPS to assist us with stewardship of our NPS lands to decrease wildland fire risk for our visitors, parks, and communities. These ten exceptional women not only worked hard but learned different facets of wildland fire management while sharpening their leadership skills. Their passion for resource stewardship is contagious and I am excited to see where their careers lead them.”

The Alaska crews are one piece of NPS’s nationwide effort to increase diversity, including in management positions, in our wildland fire program. NPS is hopeful that by introducing people to the career field of wildland fire through the ongoing partnership with SCA, as well as via youth and veteran crews, we will continually get closer to that goal.