Wildland Firefighting
in Washington State

To quote Monty Python, "and now for something completely different..."

I decided to take a bit of time off from privacy issues and computer consulting and do something a little more real. So I took a seasonal job with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources as a wildland/forest firefighter. Hard work, relatively low pay, and an element of risk. Sounded like a perfect summer of 1997 to me.

I'll be in charge of a fire engine and crew. My area of responsibility is the South Puget Sound Region, King District. That translates to roughly around the I-90 corridor from Issaquah up towards Snoqualmie Pass. Depending on how bad the fire season is this year, I could end up anywhere in the state. Or maybe even in surrounding states. Like the big fires in Oregon last year.

I was a volunteer firefighter several years ago, but that was mostly dealing with structure fires and aid calls. Wildland fires are completely different, and there's a lot to learn. The training to get my red card (the backstage pass required to work among the outdoors smoke and flames) starts in a few days.

I plan on dragging a digital camera with me throughout the summer. This page will capture some of the words and images. The Pacific Northwest has had a very wet winter and spring, so we'll see what the coming months hold...

July 2 - Last week I finished Guard School and got my red card. Guard School is prep school for wildland firefighters. You're exposed to information on fire behavior, weather, digging fire line, pumps, what the well dressed firefighter wears, and more. The name comes from the old practice of hiring forest guards, who located and put out fires. There were 120 people in my class, from different agencies such as the Forest Service and National Park Service. Everyone was eager to get through the federally mandated training that would qualify them for duty on the fire line.

This is my engine. A1S-072, or over the radio, 621. It's a one ton Chevy pickup, with a few add-ons. Like a 200 gallon water tank and high capacity pump, a foam mixer, lots of hose, and other goodies like a portable pump, chainsaw, and various and sundry hand tools. It supports two or three as a crew. Born in 1988, it's one of the older engines in the fleet. This will likely be its last season. But, don't let looks fool you. It has four wheel drive and a big engine. Its relative small size makes it quite nimble driving offroad. In the past it's frequently been called to the other side of the Cascades, where the flat, dry terrain of Eastern Washington experiences fast moving fires.

After a very slow start of summer, it looks like things are starting to warm up and dry out. Fourth of July fireworks traditionally can make things interesting, but I'm not holding my breath. Still much too wet in this part of the world.
 

July 22 - The Northwest is still the Northwet. So far, fire activity has been minimal at best.  There have been a few days of hot, dry weather, but nothing really to get the local fire season rolling.  Lots of training (this is my crew member Zack after a practice burn) and trail maintenance.  It typically takes three weeks with no rain for things to heat up.  The "fire dogs" with 20 plus seasons of experience, seem to think this will either be a very late or non-existent fire year.  Keep you posted.
 
 
 

August 9 - Fire season finally seems to be knocking at the door.  After nearly a month of no rain and warm temperatures, small fires are starting to become common.  Just got back from Omak, in Eastern Washington.  Drove over in the middle of the night a few days ago after the area got hit with a nasty thunderstorm.  Lots of lightning strikes started small fires.  The dry conditions concerned the local fire managers so they called in reinforcements.  The Forest Service had a couple of smokejumper and hotshot crews in place.  I went with a five engine strike team.  When we got there, we spent the rest of the day four-wheel driving through the countryside.  Looking for new fires and mopping up the previous night's work.  The fire activity was considerably less than expected, especially with the gusty winds and low humidity.  So we all were demobilized today and headed the four hours back home.  This is a picture of the engine strike team at the staging area.

August 12 - After we got back from Omak, we helped with an interesting conservation project, involving a helicopter, steep roads with sheer drop-offs, and lots of dust..

August 28 - The fire season suddenly looks quite wet.  After the heat and sunshine, the Washington weather has turned rainy again.  Besides training and trail maintenance, on rainy mornings we drive backroads, getting familiar with the surroundings.  One day we came across a long lost, abandoned fire lookout tower.
 

September 18 - It looks like the 1997 Fire Season in Washington is pretty much officially over.  A wet, winter-like weather pattern is dousing the area, and the seasonal crews are being laid off.  Aside from a few project fires in Spokane and around Mt. Rainer, it's been one of the slowest fire years in the Northwest in quite some time.  But before we put the engine to bed for the winter, we did get to have a little fun burning some very large slash piles from a timber sale.
 

Despite the lack of flame and fortune (low overtime), wildland fire is now in my blood.  I'm already looking forward to the 1998 season.  With the impact of El Nino and a large fuel load that didn't burn this year, 1998 could be extremely interesting.  And if not, then 1999 will be the big year, or maybe 2000, or...
 

During the 1998 fire season, I ended up on a helicopter rappel crew on the John Day Forest in Oregon.
There's a bit about that here.

last updated 0800 PDT 09/18/97
copyright 1997, Joel McNamara