Up in a Hurry!

I spent three years as a seasonal wildland fire fighter for ODF on the West Oregon District before I shifted to a more industrial forestry focus. During that time, I got to experience a range of different fire situations. West Oregon is not known for its fire seasons, so many days consisted of things none fire related, or prescribed burns. My first two years were as a student worker (I was not 18 yet), but my third season things picked up. I had completed my engine boss by week three, and was excited for the coming season as I was first off district.

Fast forward to August 2011, The call came in around 5pm that in the morning we were to take a type 6 engine to Prineville as part of a Strike Team. 18 hours later, there we sat in the compound with half a dozen or more engines from around the state as we watched the thunderheads roll in. Sure to be an interesting assignment. My engine was instructed to move back to Sisters, as they were already getting hammered with positive strikes. Day one consisted of 2 separate small fires, rolling back into the Sisters compound at 2am, a sack lunch dinner, and sleeping on a plywood floor using my duffle for a pillow. The following two days were filled with chasing down fires, 4 if I remember correctly, all under 5 acres.

During the night of day one, a lighting strike back in Prineville sparked what would later be called the Johnson Creek Fire. Within the first 6 hours the fire grew to over 100 acres in size, demanding retardant drops, dozers, and the works. We were moved back to Prineville at the end of day 3, with the Johnson Creek fire now totaling more than 200 acres.

The remaining 10 days of the assingment consisted of containing and mopping up at Johnson Creek. I was thrilled to have my first major fire experience, and astounded at the amount of consumption areas of the fire showed.