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FALLS CHURCH, Va. – Portland, Oregon native, and Bureau of Land Management Eastern States wildland firefighter Jamie Schnick is celebrating his 20th year in fire management. As the assistant superintendent of the famed Jackson Hotshots in Jackson, Mississippi, Schnick is bringing his experience and leadership to the front lines for a successful 2021 fire season.
BLM Hotshots are specialized, highly trained wildland firefighting teams skilled in combating fires. They are typically dispatched to the most challenging and dangerous areas of a wildland fire incident. The Jackson Hotshots are a unique team in BLM’s Fire and Aviation Program as the only hotshot crew east of the Mississippi River. Since 1997, the team has responded to incidents from Florida to Alaska and assisted in first responder efforts for natural disasters throughout the southeast.
“The Jackson Hotshots gave me the chance to grow in my career,” said Schnick. “As a team, each fire assignment we accomplish is a learning opportunity.”
The Jackson Hotshots were some of the first wildland firefighters dispatched to several large-scale wildland fire incidents last summer. They were integral in developing safety protocols to minimize COVID-19 transmission in the field – measures that were adopted nationally.
Listen to Schnick share more thoughts on his productive career on the Eastern States “Not Your Ordinary Job” podcast online at www.blm.gov/not-your-ordinary-job-podcast. To learn more about BLM’s Fire and Aviation Program, visit www.blm.gov/programs/fire-and-aviation.
-- BLM --
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The agency’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. Diverse activities authorized on these lands generated $111 billion in economic output across the country in fiscal year 2019—more than any other agency in the Department of the Interior. These activities supported more than 498,000 jobs.