FEDERAL FIRE RANKS THINNING.Byline: Jason Pesick Staff Writer The United States Forest Service “USFS” redirects here. For the figure skating organization, see U.S. Figure Skating. The USDA Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's national forests and national grasslands. could be facing a crisis, with firefighters leaving in droves for state and local firefighting jobs that offer higher salaries. USFS USFS United States Forest Service USFS U.S. Franchise Systems, Inc. officials, while accustomed to losing staff to other jobs in California, are alarmed at the increasing numbers of those jumping ship. "It's been going on for a large number of years, however, not at ... this rate," said Mike Dietrich, fire chief for the San Bernardino National Forest San Bernardino National Forest has two main divisions which are the San Bernardino Mountains on the easternmost of the Transverse Range, and the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains on the northernmost of the Peninsular Range. . In 2006, the 671,700-acre San Bernardino National Forest lost 60 USFS firefighters to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection For other uses of "CDF", see CDF (disambiguation). The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) or CAL FIRE is the State of California's agency responsible for the administration of the state's private and public forests. and other local fire agencies, Dietrich said. The forest has about 210 permanent firefighting positions. The federal government's Forest Service leads the frontline response to fires in the San Bernardino Mountains San Bernardino Mountains, part of the Coast Range, S Calif., extending c.60 mi (100 km) NW and SE through San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Notable peaks are San Bernardino Mt. (10,630 ft/3,240 m) and Mt. San Gorgonio (11,485 ft/3,501 m). and other national forests. The starting base salary for a Forest Service firefighter is about $32,000, according to the Forest Service. CDF (1) (Central Distribution Frame) A connecting unit (typically a hub) that acts as a central distribution point to all the nodes in a zone or domain. See MDF. pays the same person almost $50,000. Minimum pay for a San Bernardino city firefighter is about $60,000. The loss of federal firefighters to state and local agencies has always been a fact of life for the USFS. But the pace of departures has noticeably picked up, said Dietrich and others familiar with the situation. "It means that you will not have the federal fire service protection you assume you have," said Casey Judd, business manager for the Federal Wildland Fire Service Association, which lobbies for federal wildland firefighters. jason.pesick(at)sbsun.com 909-386-3861 |
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