OK, time to get into the nitty gritty. I write you from a picnic table with an outlet I can plug my laptop into at the local park here in Entiat. Its 21:30 PST. It’s Fourth of July weekend so the park is kind of busy.
My Type II IA (initial attack) handcrew is one of several located on the Okanogan-Wenatchee NF. These are typically 20-person crews, but this year my specific crew is short-staffed at 14 with three potential new folks coming on next month, TBD. Other crews are experiencing staffing shortages as well. A Type II IA is an Initial Attack capable, self-sufficient crew that can be split into four separate modules each with the appropriate leadership and qualifications. Initial attack just means we are among the first resources to arrive to a fire, expected to work aggressively to put it out. I am one of 2 females for the season. Three of our guys are fresh out of high school.
Our base is a sheet-metal sided warehouse on a cement pad with cubbies for each of us, a shed for doing saw maintenance, some port-o-pots, an outdoor spicket for refilling water, and otherwise a lot of cement and asphalt where the other government rigs are parked. We are situated right next to the Entiat hotshot base, which has a few more amenities like bathrooms and an ice cooler, but access to their building is a privilege.
My work schedule is currently one day off a week for which I am still on-call and have to be within two hours of my base should we need to deploy. If we get called to a fire and spend up to 14 days working, this is called a roll. After no less than 14 days we are allotted 3 days off, which are “R&R” days. Otherwise that on-call situation holds true for what would otherwise be weekends. We make time and three quarters if hazard pay and overtime are included. I am working at the base GS-03 level, which is $15/hr before taxes, up $2/hr from two years ago.
There is a bunkhouse for male employees located about 8 miles from the base with kitchen and full bathroom. Government housing is offered at a subsided rate of $4-9/day. My crew didn’t offer housing for females this year, but that was an overhead decision, so there was nothing my crew boss could do about it and coed was not an option. The cheapest rent was $700/month and 30 minutes away, so I am living out of my truck this summer, which is a 2004 shorted Tacoma (I fit at a diagonal). I am sleeping in the parking lot above the crew base and its a short drive down the hill and across the road to the city park by the river where there are public bathrooms and showers.
Today I tried to do something fun (so I drove to a lake) and also rest (take a nap) to recharge but both proved difficult; I was stressed about getting a call and mentally not comfortable committing to relaxing. I had to keep my phone close and stay in service, because I made a commitment to the crew. Ready to switch gears at any given moment.
This is the primary role of a wildland firefighter, to be a first responder to an incident. Like any other first responder, you don’t know when the call will come. Then there is the bigger unknown, of what the fire will be, how fast its moving, what it could do, what influence weather will have, where it’s located, what the logistics are for getting there, how long you may have to fight it. None of those things are predictable, and that’s where preparing for the long-game sets in. So really, I’m tasked with preparing for the absolute unknown. I’m not quite sure how to do it, but there’s something about remembering to breathe and stay calm and just commit to the present moment. Taking suggestions.
In fire (when I say this I mean in the firefighting world), shifts average 14 hours, but can last up to 24 or 36 hours. Mental stamina is as important as physical stamina. That said, we are also reminded that a lack of sleep over such a period is equivalent to being fully intoxicated and to stay alert to changing conditions. It is a dangerous job that asks a lot. Oh, and we sleep in the dirt, in the woods, where we’re working. When traveling, hotels are covered if we are not yet on assignment but otherwise, fire camp among other crews or ‘spiked out’ wherever we are is where we sleep. You get the picture.
Our uniform is nomex clothing, which is a treated cotton fabric. “Greens and yellows”, are pants and shirts, respectively. Our boots are leather and a minimum of 10 inches high with heels and thick treads — they have to meet certain melt specs. Helmets and gloves are required PPE (personal protective equipment). Our line gear consists of a fire pack with five quarts of personal water, fusees, a tarp, a spare MRE (or “rat”, as they are affectionately known by wildland firefighters), p-cord, lighters, flares, flagging, tape, an emergency fire shelter, a personal first aid kit, a bastard file, a few other odds and ends, personal snacks if we want them. This weighs out at 45 lbs max. Then we also have our assigned tool which we carry in hand. This tool might be a Pulaski or scrape or other implement for digging line, or in my case, a 462 Stihl chainsaw (around 20 lbs) for cutting line ahead of the dig.
As far as training goes, we are expected to carry that weight and use those tools at a consistent pace for up to 14 hours (or more, as I mentioned earlier). The Okanogan-Wenatchee NF is ranked among the top four steepest, most rugged and most inaccessible national forests in the country. Depending on the need, our crew might be shipped off to another part of the country for an assignment.
That’s the basics. There’s more—you’ll get tied in as I go along. For now, if you have any questions, leave one in the comment box and I’ll try and incorporate my answer into the next piece.
Cheers.