Get Santa Fe Interagency Hotshots Standard Operating Procedures - Fs Usda

The Arrowhead Interagency Hotshots are one of two National Park Service-based hotshot crews in the United States. Established in 1981, this twenty-person hand crew represents the highest and most demanding standards of wildland firefighting and training.

Employed by the federal government, hotshot firefighters are best equipped to tackle large wildland fires on rough terrain, but firefighters are finding they can make more money on unemployment than they do while employed.

The Santa Fe Hotshots were established in 1977. A Fire Management Officer had wanted to call the crew the Redondo Hotshots (named after a prominent peak in the Jemez Mountains). After some negotiation the crew's name was chosen, and the Santa Fe Hotshots were formed.

“Hotshot” crews because they worked on the hottest part of wildfires. The U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, state and county agencies sponsor more than 100 Interagency Hotshots Crews, with most located in the western United States.

Employed by the federal government, hotshot firefighters are best equipped to tackle large wildland fires on rough terrain, but firefighters are finding they can make more money on unemployment than they do while employed.

Smokejumpers. While Hotshots hike up to battle remote wildfires on foot, Smokejumpers parachute in. These elite wildland firefighters are most often deployed to battle wildfires in extremely remote areas, before the flames spread far enough to pose a threat.

An interagency hotshot crew consists of 18-22 specially trained firefighters that provide an organized, mobile, and skilled workforce for all phases of wildland fire management. Crew members complete many hours of training, adhere to high physical standards, and can take on the most difficult assignments.