How many folks here on AS work in Wildfire?

[madhatte]

This might be a question better posed in the Forestry & Logging forum, but I posted it here on account of the broader population represented. Mods, please move it if you feel that it's more appropriate there.

So: what do you do? Where? How long have you been at it?

Myself: I work year-round as a Forestry Technician, and during fire season I sideline as a wildland firefighter. We do quite a bit of prescribed burning where I work, as well. From about May-Oct we see many fires, though few larger than 50 acres. This is my fourth red-carded season. I sort of fell into it by necessity during a season when we were understaffed. It's been fun.

 

[mbayer]

I almost did but got sidetrackedby being young and dumb. would do it now but have a family I would have to move. You guys rock that do though.

 

[miking]

I assist state staff doing controlled burns in spring and fall. Mostly prairie grass plantings and some timber units. Mainly rx fires but do get an occasional wildfire call.

 

[nvrs]

I thought of being a firefighter when I was younger... then I decided to be a network engineer....

 

[WVshooter]

In WV, the regular fire depts tend to take care of the forest/brush fires, although the job legally falls to the Division of Forestry. It's a pretty good relationship between the 2. Any fire over 2 days long is rare here, but they do happen.

One nice advantage we have over the western counterparts is the use of water. We usually can get enough water in the woods to actively fight the fire while others are digging a line. Our worst enemy are the Mountain State's mountains. The longer/bigger fires tend to be the ones that are hard to intially locate and gain access to, then end up being straight up a mountain side.

Here's my deptartment's main line of defense:

 

[WVshooter]

And the third one:

 

[madhatte]

Jeep smokechasers! I bet that tight turn radius comes in handy, doesn't it?

 

[Teddy.Scout]

Certified in 1995 at Hocking college.
worked at Wayne national Forrest for a good year just sitting around cleaning snags out of paths and removing camp gear out of trees! Went to Montana for a couple months and made $$ doing nothing!!!!!

 

[2dogs]

I am a retired full time firefighter from a municipal department with a decent wildland responce area, though no type 3. I was the only ff certified in burning operations and did all the prescribed fire operations. Currently I am a contract faller for Cal Fire, the state's wildfire agency. I am also certified as a faller for USFS though I have never contracted with them. It has been the slowest year for wildland fires in quite some time.

Prior to my employment as a ff I drove a contract water tender. My entire life has been invloved in fire fighting, prescribed fire, fire fighting equipment. I started working controlled burns with my dad when I was old enough to walk. I have only been into chainsaws since I received my first saw for Christmas 1973. I went to work falling snags and opening roads January 7th 1974.

 

[John R]

When I was young I wanted to be a firefighter, then when I thought about it I figured I would be in the heat forever after I die, so I passed on that as a career.

 

[RandyMac]

2Dogs!, ya got me beat by over a year, I started with CDF in early June 1974, went to a Bald Hills fire on my first day. My Grandad burnt part of his ranch every year, I was allowed to help at age 8. All added up, with various agencies, I have 5 years of wild fire expirience, that's handcrew, not pumpers.

 

[edisto]

I put myself through university working on a Helitack rappel crew in Alberta, and did a short stint up in the Yukon.

Got to play with grass fires for a few years in Kansas as well, when I was director of natural areas for our university. We'd burn about 80 acres at a time. Not much saw work on a grass fire!

Wish I had the chance to do it again!

 

[Terry Syd]

In Australia we have what is called the Rual Fire Service. It is all voluntary and I'm in the local brigade. We get called out for all sorts of things, bushfires, controlled burns, house fires, motor vehicle accidents - kind of a catch all emergency service.

We can get called out for some of the big bushfires and go interstate to fight them. Some of the younger guys enjoy that kind of action (hot, dehydrated, smoke and ash), at my age, I'd rather be puttering around the garden.

 

[WVshooter]

Narrow track and turning radius is great. Everyone calls us but they all keep building full size pickups for their trucks. Oh well, we get to have the fun.

I don't think I'd ever survive out west. Driving those rigs to where the fire is has me spoiled......

 

[teatersroad]

I dabble in it, it's part of the culture here. USFS, BLM, and ODF all have district headquarters here in Prineville. Lot's of private sawyers and dozer operators carded as well. It was mostly Prineville folks that were killed in the South Canyon fire, and something lot's of folks feel here somehow.

I have my FFT1 task book open, would like to get that signed off, and get EMT basic this year. I don't care for the big show, but would like to work Rx Spring and Fall around here some more. A drip torch is my preferred MO., followed by radio sluething, pump sluething, and patrolling/holding the line. Sometimes I just take weather every half hour and act as lookout - that's fine too. Handline and falling are not for me.

Some more pics. night time blacklining and initial ignitions on burn day. The first daylight pic is initial ignitions (out of view, where all the resources happen to be), the next pic of the little puff is the blackline spotting over - three miles from any resource (there were eight or more miles of fireline in this unit), the last pic is the start of a run that turned an Rx to wildfire. Within a few hours of this photo - two heli's, a tanker, ten more engines and two dozers. 2500 acres burned that day. I could ramble about lessons learned (or not learned), the gist lies in not burning ahead of a front and tending to your perimeter at all times. This was a BLM/Private collab., and BLM had three fires get away that day, for stronger winds than forecast for the most part.

I'll cobble up more of the story.

 

[teatersroad]

Three tanker drops, right in my lonely outpost. This heli and a vertol (not pictured). incredible flame lengths through slash.

 

[teatersroad]

point of ignition, landscape, and purdy. The main purpose of burning in this environment is to mitigate Juniper encroachment. The resources to protect are primarily timber im upper elevations. Aside from the over achievement here by about 700 acres, the fire effect goals got rave reviews from the braniacs that think about such things. The depth of my concern is typically "well, we may be doing the right thing - or we may be creating something for future generations to 'fix'. But all work is noble, so onward through the fog.

 

[Jacob J.]

I've been on a few fires...(around 400 or so assignments in 19 seasons.)

 

[Jacob J.]

Fire in heavy timber is fun, fun, fun...

 

[2000ssm6]

I've raked a few lines. Most of our FD's calls are brush/woods fires during the summer. We assit the Forestry Dept. alot. I love to watch the tractors plow and make breaks.