What is a Hotshot?

Hotshotting is specialized wildland fire management work, encompassing both fire suppression and prescribed burning. It demands high skill and commitment for a 6-10 month fire season annually. A Hotshot crew consists of 20 individuals who, through rigorous training and extensive field experience, form a tight-knit, highly skilled unit. These versatile teams excel in both initial attack responses and extended campaigns. Their advanced expertise allows for broad applicability across various wildfire scenarios.

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What does hotshotting mean to you?

It means sleeping in the dirt, traveling the country, working hard in the forests, fields, mountains and deserts of the United States.

It means working 1000 hours of overtime on top of 40 hours/wk of base pay.

It means spending a hundred plus days on an assignment over a six month fire season.

It means finding breathtaking places—by foot, tire, fixed wing, helicopter, and other vehicles—that you would never have had any other reason in the world to set foot on, while protecting values and resources at risk.

Hotshotting is Fire Suppression in the most rugged country, on the most complex Division, with the most extreme fire behavior.

It’s about believing in your Superintendent’s judgment and having faith in your Captains’ decision-making.

It means trusting the 19 men and women in line with you, knowing your skill-set and your training,and being confident in your safety and situational awareness no matter what the environment.