How many folks here on AS work in Wildfire?

[ckelp]

i was about to get highered by calfire (CDF) about a mouth before i was suppose to go in and start getting trained when
a fire across the field from my mom's house and a barn full of hay.
just automatically started fighting it the smoke was so thick i couldn't see my buddy standing five feet from me, the heat was intense, it started to melt the hair on my arms.
long story short, the fire only got half way across the field and i passed up on the wild land firefighting.

hats off to you wild land guys you guy's bust your balls

 

[wood4heat]

I've been volunteering in a wooded fire district for a couple years. I was on four local wildland fires this summer but only for the initial few hours of each. I meant to get my red card but didn't have the time when I needed it so DNR sends me home as soon as they're ready to take over. If the cards fall right I'll have it next year.

 

[JayB]

I work for a career municipal department, but we cover nearly 700 square miles. Our department runs several hundred wildland fires per year. Fuels are mainly grass/brush, a few hardwoods and millions of Eastern Red Cedars. The cedars are a weed to this area and a real problem with fire and taking over pasture land. Our open grass area fuel load can be over 10,000 lbs./acre so the grass fires we have are different than most parts of the country.

 

[alderman]

I served 25 years on the local volunteer department as a firefighter/EMT.

I was only involved in a couple of wildfire's and that is a whole different ballgame than the structure fires. It amazed me how fast these things can move once the wind picks up.

 

[FSburt]

I have been a wildland firefighter since 1988. I enjoy cutting more than fighting fire so I decided not to become a full time fire fighter and stay on the forestry/silviculture end thinning trees and going on fires when the district was short handed as our HS crews were always gone during the heat of the summer and my crew was the last crew around so we became the go to crew for staffing any fire that started. Now I have promoted to a Fuels Specialist now so I get to plan and implement alot of Rx fire and plan and layout timber sales and use all the tools in the tool box for removing or modifying forest fuels. Currently I am in my dream job and am finding it very hard to convince the overhead that I "do not want to promote right now" which would keep me office bound and I would not get as much time to cut so I am content to stay put for a while. $ Has never been my motivator for staying in this line of work its been the constant thrill and changing work environment everyday that keep me happy in doing this work. I had a chance to work for Cal-Fire early in my career and the lady on the phone about fell over when I told her I was not taking the job because I was working for the Forest Service already and had already made a commitment to my employer. I feel it was the best decision I could have made for me. Others I work with totally disagree and are shocked when I tell them I would cut trees for free if they would let me. (I tried to do this after work falling roadside hazard trees but the District Ranger told me since this was my normal job thinning trees I could not volunteer to do this. I could believe it but I figured oh well their loss.) ('"If your lucky enough to be a faller than your lucky enough is my thoughts").

 

[Tree Sling'r]

I've done a little, got some photos and vids floating around this site somewhere.

 

[Kenskip1]

Wildfire

Yes I am a volunteer fireman here in Texas. We get many grass fires, some that will burn for days at a time. Any it gets very hot and hairy at times.With the wind that blows here the fire is able to spread faster than we are able to put it out.Coleman is the hub of my county but we have about 7 smaller departments that respond but we get involved with about 75% of them. A good number of the fires are started buy someone tossing a lit cigarette or a hay buggie with the bale dragging on the wheel just to name a few of the possible causes. Lightning has caused many as does a train passing through. Here is a link of what we do but this fire is further north.Ken

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGnKop0sHdY

 

[adkranger]

Been a wildland FF for almost 15 years, everything from line chinker to pump slug to IC if I'm unlucky enough to have one in my woods. Much rather go play in someone else's area. We work well with the local VFDs to get the job done. Plenty of Rx burn experience too, but we don't get to do enough of that IMO due to many socio/polical reasons here. Been red carded since '96 and take every opportunity to crew out West when I can. Good experience to keep you sharp.

We don't burn often out east, or they are small and uneventful for the most part. Just keep building fuel loading for the future. Occaisionally we have a good season or couple "big show" fires, but mostly it's spring grass/brush fires and fall timber litter. It's all good.

 

[Erock]

Been on fire for 2 years. Stationed on the Gunflint RD on the Superior National Forest in Grand Marais Minnesota. Lots of Rx fire in the spring, dumping trees and stacking sticks in the summer, and pile burning and more Rx fire in the fall. I'm a faller B so I get to play with some of the sketchier trees up there. I also was the saw manager so I maintained all our saws and sharpened all the chain (with a hand file too)

We have 14 saws in our cache. All Stihl (sorry no pics) I do know we have
7 - 046 Mags
4 - 440 Mags
3 - 036 pro

2 have 28" B&C
8 have 24" B&C
4 have 20" B&C

and at least 70 loops of chain.

 

[FFemt5287]

I've been involved with my local (literally across the street) volunteer FD since I was 14. We don't do many brush fires, maybe 20-30 per year, and almost all small brush/leaf fires. I usually try to grab a saw, or rake, or radio, as opposed to an indian tank or hand line!

Our most noteworthy burn (which isn't really noteworthy at all) was about a 15 acre burn 5 or 6 years ago that we ended up toying around with for about 10 hours.

Our rig is a 1979 Chevy Scottsdale 30 with 11,000 original miles on a tired 350 SBC, full time 4 wheel, and 250 gal of water. A Dolmar 5100 resides in one of the compartments.....

 

[Nardoo]

My boy joins the fire crews each semester break from University. This is his 5th year and he will fit in two more seasons before he finishes his course - perhaps I should be helping him with his studies!

 

[slowp]

Pretty much a lifetime timber beast (cept for a few years after "the Purge") so it wasn't my day job. I'd go on the lightning busts and project fires when they were desperate to fill out a crew. Unfortunately, I figured out that I was sensitive to smoke cuz I'd always come home with bronchitis, so I quit going.

Before the timber purge, this district could put together three 20 person crews. Now they are lucky to have 10 people. We were unwilling firefighters because we got overtime burning slash and could sleep in our own beds at night. The slash burns used to get pretty wild, with a lot of rolling logs, rootwads and rocks. We'd often hear, "OK, it spotted across into unit #, lets go to plan D and start lighting in that unit" and our only a few hours burn would turn into an all nighter. Then we'd go home, change clothes, and head out to do timber work.

It was the perfect "team building" exercise.

I have not been on the line since C rations were replaced by MREs.

 

[upstateny]

Not to Hijack,

But could/would someone explain the "red card" and what I would have to do to get "certified" or what have you to be a wildland ff?

 

[teatersroad]

Not to Hijack,

But could/would someone explain the "red card" and what I would have to do to get "certified" or what have you to be a wildland ff?

Fed/State agencies and most contractors will put you through the initial training to get carded to qualify to work on fire, or you can pay to go. Usually a week long course 'guard school', then you're under their wing for assignment as an FFTII, from there your progression through actual experience and training will get you signed off in other categories/skills/quals. Different for a faller, dozer boss, etc. that may already have the experience., still fire specific training/experience required, observed, and noted by overhead. IMO, guard school doesn't amount to much of anything. It's the quality of people you are surrounded by when you get out there and your own wits, awareness, and initiative that'll matter.

http://iqcs.nwcg.gov/main/about.html

 

[XrynoX]

started in 2004, couldn't imagine doing anything else

a nice little blaze at the start of this summer
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[madhatte]

IMO, guard school doesn't amount to much of anything. It's the quality of people you are surrounded by when you get out there and your own wits, awareness, and initiative that'll matter.

Couldn't agree more. We host a Guard School every year; usually about 50 folks from as many agencies show up. They dig some line, deploy a shelter, then burn a pile. Yay! Fire! Then they go home, we babysit the embers and get some OT, and go home when the sun goes down and the fire goes to bed for the night.

 

[FSburt]

'The slash burns used to get pretty wild, with a lot of rolling logs, rootwads and rocks. We'd often hear, "OK, it spotted across into unit #, lets go to plan D and start lighting in that unit" and our only a few hours burn would turn into an all nighter. Then we'd go home, change clothes, and head out to do timber work."


Ah those were the days when you learned fire behavior on the stump right in front of you. Orleans was exactly as you speak just burn and keep burning sometimes with no one holding the unit just fly over in helicopter light it up and move on the the next one. The fuels people knew there stuff the fire would burn to the edge of the clearcut unit and hit the timber belt with wetter shaded fuels and would go out on its own. pretty impressive to a 2nd yr person like me. We also had a unit landing pile "spontaneously catch fire one night and well since the unit was all prepped we just spent the rest of the night burning it. Great times working up there with some great people.

 

[adkranger]

Not to Hijack,

But could/would someone explain the "red card" and what I would have to do to get "certified" or what have you to be a wildland ff?

PM sent.

 

[slowp]

'The slash burns used to get pretty wild, with a lot of rolling logs, rootwads and rocks. We'd often hear, "OK, it spotted across into unit #, lets go to plan D and start lighting in that unit" and our only a few hours burn would turn into an all nighter. Then we'd go home, change clothes, and head out to do timber work."


Ah those were the days when you learned fire behavior on the stump right in front of you. Orleans was exactly as you speak just burn and keep burning sometimes with no one holding the unit just fly over in helicopter light it up and move on the the next one. The fuels people knew there stuff the fire would burn to the edge of the clearcut unit and hit the timber belt with wetter shaded fuels and would go out on its own. pretty impressive to a 2nd yr person like me. We also had a unit landing pile "spontaneously catch fire one night and well since the unit was all prepped we just spent the rest of the night burning it. Great times working up there with some great people.

The one time we got to use a helicopter, it broke down when it got to the steep section. People were put in there, at night. We were lucky, only got one person hurt when a rock hit her in the back. She had a bad bruise.

The poor fire guys had to do all the prep work...hose lays, pump setting up, etc. We timber people just had to come in for the glory time. Except one time the fire people had changed and the newbies had done the hose lay backwards, so we had to fix it.

Clearcuts generated a lot of employment.

 

[Fred482]

Volunteer Rural Fire Protection District since '80. 35 sq. mi. rural/urban interface. Chief from '84 - '87, merged with neighboring rural district in '90. Now a Battalion Chief with 105 sq. mi. rural/urban interface and a town of 8000+. District encompasses two smaller communities as well.

Five stations, six brush rigs, six engines, three tenders and three rescues. Six paid, seventy volunteers. Large, varied area, farm/timber zoning on a lot of it. Standing grain, hops, berries, wine grapes, etc. Many acres of Christmas trees.

Interesting fire problems every dry summer.