Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists
Also called: Fire Management Officer, Fire Prevention Technician, Forest Officer, Forest PatrolmanEnforce fire regulations, inspect forest for fire hazards, and recommend forest fire prevention or control measures. May report forest fires and weather conditions.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 8 of its 16 tasks, yet jobs are projected to grow 13.1% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 0.6% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Fire inspectors”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 4.3 hires for every 10 job openings in government, which employs about 98% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.4.3 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $37,430 | $35,610 to $42,520 | 40 |
| Arizona | $58,570 | $58,570 to $75,900 | 40 |
| Arkansas | $43,310 | $37,440 to $47,010 | 140 |
| California | $97,370 | $71,880 to $124,060 | 480 |
| Colorado | $50,170 | $48,240 to $62,290 | 210 |
| Florida | $51,690 | $48,670 to $72,850 | 100 |
| Georgia | $48,010 | $44,770 to $55,710 | 350 |
| Idaho | $47,050 | $44,640 to $51,250 | 50 |
| Louisiana | $75,480 | $49,400 to $102,480 | 90 |
| Maine | $68,310 | $56,180 to $71,030 | 60 |
| Mississippi | $31,720 | $30,140 to $34,900 | 100 |
| New Jersey | $57,380 | $48,530 to $80,330 | 140 |
| Oklahoma | $61,700 | $43,760 to $99,270 | 310 |
| Oregon | $73,530 | $62,520 to $88,690 | 140 |
| Utah | $90,020 | $78,640 to $102,130 | 50 |
Nationally: $56,870. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 8 of its 16 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| AI alone | Relay messages about emergencies, accidents, locations of crew and personnel, and fire hazard conditions. | Not published |
| Not much | Conduct wildland firefighting training. | Not published |
| AI alone | Estimate sizes and characteristics of fires, and report findings to base camps by radio or telephone. | Not published |
| Not much | Extinguish smaller fires with portable extinguishers, shovels, and axes. | Not published |
| AI alone | Direct crews working on firelines during forest fires. | Not published |
| AI + software | Compile and report meteorological data, such as temperature, relative humidity, wind direction and velocity, and types of cloud formations. | Not published |
See all 16 tasks
| Not much | Locate forest fires on area maps, using azimuth sighters and known landmarks. | Not published |
| Not much | Educate the public about fire safety and prevention. | Not published |
| AI + software | Patrol assigned areas, looking for forest fires, hazardous conditions, and weather phenomena. | Not published |
| Not much | Examine and inventory firefighting equipment, such as axes, fire hoses, shovels, pumps, buckets, and fire extinguishers, to determine amount and condition. | Not published |
| AI + software | Maintain records and logbooks. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Direct maintenance and repair of firefighting equipment, or requisition new equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Restrict public access and recreational use of forest lands during critical fire seasons. | Not published |
| AI + software | Inspect forest tracts and logging areas for fire hazards such as accumulated wastes or mishandling of combustibles, and recommend appropriate fire prevention measures. | Not published |
| AI alone | Administer regulations regarding sanitation, fire prevention, violation corrections, and related forest regulations. | Not published |
| Not much | Inspect camp sites to ensure that campers are in compliance with forest use regulations. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 1 of the 16 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 16 tasks fall under 15 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #5 Provide information or assistance to the public
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct security or safety activities or operations | |||
| Monitor environmental conditions | |||
| Notify others of emergencies or problems | |||
| Inspect facilities or equipment | |||
| Monitor safety or security of work areas, facilities, or properties | |||
| Replenish inventories of materials, equipment, or products | |||
| Provide information or assistance to the public | |||
| Maintain safety or security |
Show all 15 activities
| Maintain operational records | |||
| Train others on operational or work procedures | |||
| Protect people or property from threats such as fires or flooding | |||
| Record information about environmental conditions | |||
| Teach safety procedures or standards to others | |||
| Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment | |||
| Advise others on workplace health or safety issues |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- An explanation or answer27%
- A document or report26%
- An analysis or summary6%
- Teaching material6%
- An email or message4%
How they worked with Claude
52% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 3,361 moves out
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 8%
- 2 Security Guards Moderate +0.9% 8%
- 3 Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers High +3.5% 3%
- 4 First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives Moderate +3.3% 3%
- 5 Fast Food and Counter Workers Moderate +5.8% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 3,271 moves in
- 1 Security Guards Moderate +0.9% 9%
- 2 Fast Food and Counter Workers Moderate +5.8% 6%
- 3 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 4 Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers High +3.5% 5%
- 5 First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers High +5.4% 3%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 32% high school
- 9% postsecondary certificate
- 18% some college
- 18% associate's
- 24% bachelor's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 21 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 2% less than high school
- 19% high school
- 33% some college
- 11% associate's
- 28% bachelor's
- 6% master's
- 1% professional degree
- 1% doctorate
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Fire inspectors” · 349 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Fire inspectors”
3 programs: Environmental/Natural Resources Law Enforcement and Protective Services, Fire Science/Fire-fighting and Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 1 registered apprenticeship in this occupation (Forest Fire Prevention Technician (NOF)). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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