DISTRICT FIRE MANAGEMENT AND WILDFIRE

Kjersten Peterson

October 27, 2026

California

District Fire Management and Wildfire & Forest Resilience Program Specialist

Kjersten Peterson

October 27, 2026

California

Job Type
: Full-time, on-site

Location: California Department of Parks and Recreation
- Julian, California

Pay: $46.47-$63.77/hour

Application Deadline: November 5, 2026

Description

Under the general direction of the Colorado Desert District Senior Environmental Scientist (Supervisory), the Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist) serves as the District's senior technical specialist and program lead for wildfire management, wildfire preparedness, prescribed fire, fuels management, forest resilience, and Wildfire and Forest Resilience Program (WFRP) activities throughout the Colorado Desert District (CDD), including Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (ABDSP), Cuyamaca Rancho State Park (CRSP), and Palomar Mountain State Park (PMSP).

Tasks And Duties

Fire Management, Prescribed Fire, Reforestation, and WFRP (30%)

Develops, evaluates, maintains, and updates District and park-unit fire management plans, prescribed-fire strategies, wildfire-preparedness plans, vegetation-management strategies, fueltreatment priorities, implement schedules, and related technical guidance. Develops and writes prescribed-burn plans addressing project objectives, burn-unit boundaries, fuels, desired fire behavior, weather and fuel-moisture parameters, ignition strategy, holding strategy, contingency resources, communications, smoke management, public and firefighter safety, natural and cultural resource protection, mop-up standards, monitoring, and post-burn evaluation. May serve as the California State Parks Prescribed-Fire Burn Boss for Department-led prescribed-fire operations. Coordinates State Parks objectives, environmental commitments, personnel, equipment, resource-protection measures, and operational responsibilities with CAL FIRE and other participating agencies. Coordinates District wildfire preparedness and may respond to wildland-fire incidents affecting State Park lands as a qualified Resource Advisor (READ/REAF), agency representative, technical specialist, or other appropriately qualified incident position. Provides senior technical advice and project coordination for the Cuyamaca Rancho Park Reforestation Project, including development of planting priorities, reforestation treatment strategies, site preparation, fuels reduction, prescribed-fire integration, forest-health considerations, ecological restoration objectives, and long‑term stand resilience. Works with District Natural Resources staff, forestry personnel, contractors, researchers, CAL FIRE, conservation crews, and other partners to evaluate existing and proposed reforestation and fuel reduction areas and determine appropriate sequencing of fuels treatment, prescribed fire, planting, monitoring, and maintenance. Reviews reforestation monitoring information, foresthealth data, fire history, vegetation conditions, treatment effectiveness, tree survival, fuel accumulation, and other available scientific information to advise future planting and prescribedfire decisions. Assists with planning and implementation of prescribed fire within and adjacent reforestation areas to support fuel reduction, site preparation, ecological restoration, forest resilience, and protection of existing and future plantings. Develops annual and multi‑year WFRP priorities and evaluates treatment effectiveness, ecological response, wildfire‑risk reduction, forest restoration outcomes, program accomplishments, and future management needs through adaptive management.

Project Development, CEQA, Burn Planning, and Smoke Management (20%)

Independently scopes and develops prescribed-fire, pile‑burning, air curtain burner, fuelreduction, forest‑health, reforestation, ecological‑restoration, and wildfire‑resilience projects from conceptual planning through implementation and monitoring. Conduct field investigations and prepare project descriptions, treatment prescriptions, maps, alternatives analyses, implementation specifications, cost estimates, monitoring plans, and technical reports. Evaluates whether burn‑plan prescriptions and operational requirements have been met; participates in go/no‑go decisions; and provides operational leadership throughout ignition, holding, mop‑up, patrol, and post‑burn activities. For cooperative prescribed burns, may serve as State Parks coIncident Commander, Agency. Administrator representative, Burn Boss, or technical firemanagement lead, as appropriate to the incident organization and employee qualifications

Implementation, NACC, Air Curtain Burner Operations (15%)

Plans, permits, operates, and provides technical oversight for District use of air curtain burners and other approved biomass‑disposal burn devices used for fuels reduction, for