During the season of 2014, I was fighting fire with Grayback Forestry. One of the fires we were assigned to during this particular season was the Old Blue Mountain Fire in Southern Oregon. The topography was steep and had many draws that could potentially create a chimney effect. Fortunately, the fire was a dry lightning start nearly at the highest point on the steep mountain. However, probability of ignition was high (which indicates extreme fire behavior) and there were meadows containing dense, fine fuels, connecting different timber sales. Foot's Creek and Grants Pass lie on either side of the mountain, with many residences in between. This meant that the USFS treated this with high priority so there was constant aerial support and resources made available. I caught one of the tankers bringing in a retardant drop on a road they were concerned might let the fire slop over.The cool part: it was shared on Rogue Weather News.
Fortunately, for the combination of aerial support, a strong effort on the first few night shifts, and plenty of handcrew resources, line was put in and the remaining days were spent mopping up without any spots picking back up. I love fire, the physics behind fire, and just being on site! I hope to spend many more summers doing this in the Pacific Northwest.
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