Forestry Fire Pilot

Department of Forestry & Fire Protection
Lassen County, CA

Job Description and Duties

For questions related to the duties of the position, please contact Battalion Chief Larry Turman by phone at (530) 310-2213 or by email at [email protected] .

The position will be located at the the Bieber Helitack Base in Susanville , CA.

Eligibility Information

T o be considered for this position, candidates must meet one of the following eligibility criteria:
  1. Candidates with SROA/Surplus eligibility will be given priority, if any. If none, then;
  2. Candidate must have taken and passed the examination for this classification and be active on a current certified eligibility list; or,
  3. Candidate must be eligible to transfer; or,
  4. Candidate must be eligible to reinstate.


To obtain list eligibility, candidates must take and pass an examination for the classification of interest. The examination for this classification is currently posted and can be accessed by following the link below:

Forestry Fire Pilot

Applicants that successfully complete and pass the examination will be placed on an eligibility list. Obtaining list eligibility does not guarantee employment. Those interested in obtaining employment as a list eligible candidate must apply to the job control of the position in which you are interested and compete through the state recruitment process. The score and rank you achieve on your examination will not be considered during the rating portion of the hiring process; evaluation will be based on separate, predetermined criteria that evaluate your knowledge, specialized skills, and abilities in relation to specific program needs.

You will find additional information about the job in the .

Working Conditions


May be required to work nights, weekends, and holidays.

The incumbent to the position will pilot a helicopter in single pilot operation under hazardous conditions, during day or night, such as: mountainous terrain, turbulent air, reduced visibility, confined areas, over water, with external loads (including Heli torch and other airborne pyrotechnical devices), to and from unimproved landing sites, at high altitudes, in high temperatures, in toxic smoke, with high gross weights at or near the performance limits of the aircraft, in close proximity to uncontrolled fire line, and in close proximity with other aircraft such as with other firefighting helicopters, air tankers, lead planes, news media helicopters, as well as general aviation and military aircraft.

Required Pilot-In-Command (PIC) Flight Hours

  1. At least 500 hours of mountain pilot-in-command helicopter flight time, routinely making landings in mountainous terrain above 4,000 feet MSL.
  2. At least 500 hours of turbine helicopter time as pilot-in- command.
  3. Two hundred and fifty hours as pilot-in-command of helicopters performing low level missions in fire control, map survey, powerline patrol, search and rescue, and spray or seeding operations over mountain or forested or comparable military operations.
  4. At least 100 hours as pilot-in-command in helicopters carrying sling loads.
  5. At least 50 hours as pilot-in-command in helicopters in the past year.

Special Requirements

  • Incumbent must possess a valid Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) Commercial Airman Certificate with rotorcraft-helicopter rating or a valid FAA issued Airline Transport Pilot's Certificate with rotorcraft-helicopter rating.
  • Incumbent must possess a valid and current Class II Airman's Medical Certificate issued by an FAA authorized medical examiner.
  • Incumbent must possess a valid driver's license of the appropriate class issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
  • Applicants must have logged at least 2,000 hours of pilot-in-command time flying helicopters. Of these, candidates must have all of the required flight hours in qualifying conditions or assignments as listed in the class specifications.

CAL FIRE pilots must have the ability to work any required shift and remain on duty 24 hours a day with regulated maximum flight time and mandated uninterrupted sleep cycles per 24-hour period.

Application Submission Requirements

In order to advance through the selection process and be considered for this position, a complete application package must be submitted. A package is considered complete only if all items listed in the Required Application Package Documents section (below) are included, complete, accurate, legible, and all directions are followed.

Please Note: Electronic Logbook Requirement

Submission of logbook(s) in any of the unacceptable (non-electronic) formats is considered to be a demonstration of the candidate's inability and/or refusal to follow instructions and as a result, the logbook may not be reviewed. Additionally, by failing to submit a logbook in the required electronic format, the application package may be considered incomplete, candidate will be considered no longer interested in the position, and these candidates will not move forward in the hiring process.

Desirable Qualifications

In addition to evaluating each candidate's relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:


Forest-firefighting experience with helicopters is desirable.

Possession of interagency carding to fly agency (CAL FIRE) aircraft is desired.

Benefits

Benefit information can be found on the CalHR website and the CalPERS website.


This classification is eligible for the following pay:

$7948 - $10488 Base Salary (paid every month)

$2701 - $3564 Extended Duty Week Compensation (paid every 4 weeks)

$130,489 – $172,188 Annual Compensation

Employees in the classification are eligible for and shall receive incentives based on their helicopter pilot qualifications and/or CAL FIRE helicopter program responsibilities. These incentives shall be cumulative, depending on the qualifications and program responsibilities of the employee, the total of which shall not exceed 15% of base pay.

RATE
10% of base salary - S-70i Firehawk Helicopter and Night Flying Qualified

2.5% of base salary - Unit Instructor Pilot

2.5% of base salary - Flight Examiner

2.5% of base salary - Helicopter Instructor Pilot

2.5% of base salary - Maintenance Test Pilot

2.5% of base salary - Chief Pilot

This differential shall be considered compensation for the purposes of retirement contributions.


In addition to the above pay items, employees are eligible for medical benefits (health, dental, vision) and may be eligible for other pay differentials, more information on which can be found on the website.

Bargaining Unit 8 Considerations

The Bargaining Unit 8 Memorandum of Understanding regarding Voluntary In-Class Transfer Policy (Inter-Unit) (Section 9.2) will be followed. The unit may require two (2) years of service in the employee's current assignment starting on the date of appointment before becoming eligible for inter-unit transfer.

Required Application Package Documents

The following items are required to be submitted with your application. Applicants who do not submit the required items timely may not be considered for this job:

  • Current version of the State Examination/Employment Application STD Form 678 (when not applying electronically), or the Electronic State Employment Application through your Applicant Account at All Experience and Education relating to the Minimum Qualifications listed on the Classification Specification should be included to demonstrate how you meet the Minimum Qualifications for the position.
  • Resume is required and must be included.
  • Other - Authorization to Release Information Form (PO-299). Access the form by following this link:
  • Other - Complete and signed Forestry Fire Pilot Supplemental Questionnaire. Access the form by following this link:
  • Other - Copy of the front and back of your valid driver’s license of the appropriate class issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
  • Other - Copy of your valid Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) Commercial Airman’s Certificate with Rotorcraft - Helicopter rating or valid FAA Airline Transport Pilot's Certificate with Rotorcraft - Helicopter rating.
  • Other - Copy of your valid Class II Airman's Medical Certificate issued by an FAA authorized Medical Examiner.
  • Other - Updated copy of your Official Flight Record indicating at least 50 hours within the past twelve (12) months flying helicopters as Pilot in Command.
  • Other - Electronic copy of your pilot logbook demonstrating you meet the minimum qualifications of the Forestry Fire Pilot classification. Images, photos, or scans of paper logbooks will not be accepted or reviewed.
  • Other - If applicable, please include a copy of your most current pilot card issued by California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), United States Department of the Interior (DOI), or United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Posted 2026-08-12

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