Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists
Enforce fire regulations, inspect forest for fire hazards, and recommend forest fire prevention or control measures. May report forest fires and weather conditions.
2,780 people do this job in the US. $56,870 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 16%
- 3%
- 81%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 14%. Today's estimate: 15%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 16 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrol assigned areas, looking for forest fires, hazardous conditions, and weather phenomena.Done daily by most who do it. | 27% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Direct crews working on firelines during forest fires.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 13% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Examine and inventory firefighting equipment, such as axes, fire hoses, shovels, pumps, buckets, and fire extinguishers, to determine amount and condition.Done daily by most who do it. | 12% | 1.7 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Inspect forest tracts and logging areas for fire hazards such as accumulated wastes or mishandling of combustibles, and recommend appropriate fire prevention measures.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 11% | 2.5 h50 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Conduct wildland firefighting training.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 7% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Maintain records and logbooks.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | 97%Half by now | |
| Administer regulations regarding sanitation, fire prevention, violation corrections, and related forest regulations.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | 95%Half by now | |
| Compile and report meteorological data, such as temperature, relative humidity, wind direction and velocity, and types of cloud formations.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Inspect camp sites to ensure that campers are in compliance with forest use regulations.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Educate the public about fire safety and prevention.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | 95%Half by now | |
| Direct maintenance and repair of firefighting equipment, or requisition new equipment.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 3% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Restrict public access and recreational use of forest lands during critical fire seasons.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 2% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | 51%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers21% now, 29% by 2028
- Firefighters3% now, 3% by 2028
- Fire Inspectors and Investigators15% now, 54% by 2028
- Fire-Prevention and Protection Engineers5% now, 61% by 2028
- Forest and Conservation Technicians2% now, 7% by 2028
- Foresters1% now, 30% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).