National Park Service hosts first all-women fire crew in Alaska

The 2022 women's fire crew hosted by the National Park Service, Alaska Region, pictured here in Katmai National Park in June 2022.

NPS

The National Park Service (NPS) Alaska fire management program hosted a seven-person all-woman wildland fire crew through the Student Conservation Association (SCA) in 2022 - the first of its kind for NPS in Alaska.

Staff from the NPS – both the Alaska Regional Office, Alaska national parks, and from the Lower 48, as well as the Bureau of Land Management trained the crew in early summer, in the classroom and then in the field at Katmai National Park and Preserve (KATM). This training qualified members of the crew as Firefighter Type 2: firefighters who serve on a crew and perform fire suppression and management duties in the most adverse climate, fuel and terrain environments. They also gained experience toward Basic Faller (FAL3) qualifications (chain saw operators in a firefighting crew) - under National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) standards.

Two women from the 2022 Alaska SCA women’s fire crew carry a tree stump between them as part of a fuels reduction project at Katmai National Park & Preserve.

NPS

After completing training, the crew worked on high priority fuels reduction projects near park infrastructure in both KATM and Denali National Park and Preserve (DENA). In July, crewmembers deployed to the Slathtouka Fire near Allakaket, Alaska, their first emergency wildfire assignment in support of Alaska’s interagency wildland fire management effort.  

At the end of their season, each crewmember was assigned an NPS mentor to assist with future employment and career goals. Most of the women from the 2022 crew expressed interest in returning to work in wildland fire for NPS in the future.

Two women from the 2022 women's fire crew train at Katmai National Park in June 2022, with NPS Instructor Missy Forder assisting.

NPS

The region plans to continue this program in 2023. The goal of providing more women with wildland fire experience that could lead to future employment supports NPS Wildland Fire Management’s goal of creating more avenues for women to grow and succeed in NPS Wildland Fire.