Jessica Webb
editor@thesmokymountaintimes.com
Swain County residents love the outdoors, and every time you go for a hike enjoying public lands— especially in national forests— prescribed burns are among the management practices that allow us to enjoy this land. Similarly, every summer we see coverage of the wildfires that happen out West and the properties that are protected. Both firefighting efforts are credit to wildlands firefighters and Job Corps members are among those on the fire lines.
Last year, more than 66,000 wildfires burned nearly 7.6 million acres of land across the United States. Job Corps members provided a combined 204,633 hours of support for federal firefighters during those fires, 20% more than the previous year, according to the US Department of Labor.
Oconaluftee, located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cherokee, is one of 24 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers in the United States and is one of three in Western North Carolina, where in addition to their schooling and vocational training, students can join the fire crews and help with fire suppression efforts on public lands. From WNC, Oconaluftee students logged more than 5,000 hours, Lyndon B. Johnson in Franklin 5,228 and Schenck in the Pisgah Forest 5,520.
“During the 2022 fire year, the Job Corps Fire Program matched a near record-setting number of hours spent engaged in wildfire suppression, prescribed fire and support functions to incidents,” said Job Corps National Director Rachel Torres. “The programs at each of the 24 Civilian Conservation Centers delivered high-caliber and safe training to prepare students to mobilize to address national emergencies like wildfires.”
One recent Oconaluftee graduate is going to work for the Forest Service in Arapaho National Forest outside Colorado Springs, Colorado.
One of the benefits of being on the fire crew is income, which helps students when it comes time to graduate the program for expenses like relocating or even buying a used car. On average, a two-week assignment can equate to about $3,000 of income.
Forestry and Advanced Forestry
Job Corps is the largest nationwide residential career training program where young people—ages 16 to 24 can complete their high school education and train for a vocation. The Job Corps CCC programs act as a training ground for much-needed positions in the USDA and Forest Service.
Jacob Coleman, from North Carolina, has been in Job Corps since December 2021, and switched from electrical to the forestry program.
“I enjoy being active, going out in nature,” he said, of choosing the forestry program. Both he and Montel Filmore were recently on a two-week assignment near Murphy, N.C., where they helped with two controlled prescribed burns and responded to a wildfire that was caused by a downed live wire.
Job Corps members fight right alongside the professionals.
“You’re doing everything they’re doing—you might be on a blower one moment and a fire rake the next. You’re multitasking throughout the process. You see what the team needs and do it,” explained Filmore.
You’re paying attention to the dark and green, he said, explaining the dark is where the fire is, and the green is where you don’t want it to cross over.
“You need exit routes, you always keep those, and you always want to know what the fire is doing at all times,” he said.
Safety is the priority, Filmore said, and paying attention to the conditions on the ground is also a factor. For example, down in the valley there might not be any wind but climb to the ridgeline and it might be blowing fiercely.
Before assignments, the fire crew members must complete training and earn their certifications. In addition to skills tests, they must complete a physical test of a 3-mile walk while wearing a 45-pound vest.
Students in any of the program can choose to be on the fire militia, which is called Raven Fork Fire Crew at Oconaluftee.
“You don’t have to pick forestry; you could be in any trade,” Coleman said. “It’s a nice thing to have under their belt.”
Dwayne Smith, from Tennessee, has completed the urban forestry program with Job Corps and is going to be among the first class of students at Oconaluftee in the Advanced Forestry program as well. He’s also a member of the fire crew. He spent this past summer on assignment in Oregon, where he was fighting fires and helping with the non-fire side of things. He’s already had job offers from his urban forestry vocation, with offers to be a smoke jumper.
“The way I see it, I work and earn money, and I get experiences I never would have if I didn’t come here for my trade,” Smith said of the being on fire crew on at Job Corps. It also helped him choose his vocation.
He agrees it’s essential to stay alert when you’re in the field.
“If you lose attention for a split-second, a fire that is 50 yards away, could be a fire that is only 10 yards away,” Smith said. “It’s also important you know where your people are at and you’re paying attention to your surroundings.”
It’s not just fires they must be on the lookout for, wildlife on the run from a fire can pose a danger as can things like falling tree limbs.
Coleman said those who join the fire crew can expect hard work and be prepared for the potential for injury.
It’s physically demanding work—where an active firefighting day could be 16 hours, being exposed to the heat and other elements.
It takes focus, and Coleman said, “the mindset is you’ve got to expect to work.”
“When you’re out in the field, you can’t give up because you already committed to it, now you have to push through it,” he said.
“The minute you get on a truck with the crew, any difference between a Job Corps student and them is gone,” Smith said.
He admits to getting nervous on the way to the fire but that the fear slips away once he is on sight.
“The moment I see that fire, I just focus on what I know and need to do and who I have next to me,” he said.
New fire militia building
Oconaluftee now has a new metal building on campus to serve as the fire militia building, which will help with housing all its supplies in a central location. The building itself is one example of the hands-on work students in the vocational program get at Job Corps, with students in the building and electrical programs taking part.
“There’s no better way to learn a trade than real-world application like this,” said Rebecca Ensley who coordinates the career training programs at Oconaluftee.
Steve Scott, who recently joined the Oconaluftee staff as the assistant fire management officer, said they are in a unique spot— being part of the USFS but also located next to NC State Forestry and National Park Service land.
“My goal is building a program to train students to get the certifications they need to fight fires and do prescribed burns and send our students out to any of those cooperators,” he said of getting the fire militia up and running for the next fire seasons.
He hopes to build on what is already available, too, adding there are lots of different trainings they can offer. There’s a physical fitness aspect as well, he points out, adding he plans to “ramp up” that aspect of the training.
“I want my people to be able to hike up the hill quicker than the other people,” Scott said.
USFS staff members at Oconaluftee can also train to be part of the fire crews or the camp crews who support the wildfire efforts— those who set up the communications stations and camps— “all the things that keep the fire lines going,” Ensley said.
Since fire season is six months, Ensley said one of the things the program emphasizes is that students in the fire crew also build up their skills for what they will those other six months out of the year. Being in the forestry program is a good fit for any who want to go into wildlands firefighting as a career, offering job opportunities like working on a timber crew.
“There are three things we want every student to have when they leave here: an education, a driver’s license and a trade,” said Jim Lawler, liaison specialist.
Both Coleman and Smith agree there is much to be gained from the Job Corps program if you are willing to work hard and are determined. Smith said he thinks the program works.
“You come in and get a free education, you don’t have to worry about housing and food, and you can get a trade within a year. I got my first one in six months,” he said.
Coleman said every Job Corps Center is different, and that students can be successful in the program if they have their minds on their goals and avoid the drama and other challenges that can come from congregate living.
Like many educational programs, Oconaluftee is building back up its attendance after the pandemic with about 70 students currently in the program.
“We’d love to have more local students, currently the closest is from the Asheville area,” said Lawler.