Days 3-5 Shelley Fire. During the following days we mopped up the fire. In wilderness areas fire fighters are expected to disturb the area as little as possible. That means working smokes 5 feet in from the line rather then 60 feet in. At night we got hot buckets flown in. Hot buckets are meals put in a bucket by a local restaurant. Nice break from MRE's. Also we got to hangout with the Silver City shots around the campfire. Silver City IHC is the closest geographical shot crew to us. We hiked out the last day to the closest road our buggies could manage. For the first two miles it was a nice walk in the wilderness. However, Silver City IHC decided they would follow on our heals which Dewey didn't like so much. The next five miles turned into a power hike. After we arrive as a group at the buggies Silver City IHC ended up being 10 minutes behind us spaced out in three groups. Schooled ‘em.

Day 2 Shelley Fire. Long day of "H"(Hazard) pay and digging line. The plan was to continue the line we dug yesterday around a few fingers and up the east flank. Early in the day we got spread out doing other things. One group had to deal with a spot fire created from burning out a section of line the day before. Yet another group had to cut a heli-spot close to the fire for Silver City IHC to land in. The remaining five including me continued the line. Silver City IHC arrived late in the day. By night fall we had line around the fire and the approx. acreage is 120.

Shelly Fire. May 28 - June 1. The Shelly Fire had been burning for a couple weeks before Gila IHC arrived. The fire is in the Gila wilderness area where it is common practice to let the fire burn itself out (fire use).

On the 27th the winds picked up in combination with hot/dry temps. The acreage grew to approximately 30.

On the 28th the decision for Gila IHC to suppress was made. Due to the remote location a helicopter was detailed to fly us in and provide our extended attack gear (sleeping bags and MRE's). The helicopter took off from lookout point and landed 2 miles from the fire in non-wilderness NF. Helicopters have to be approved by the Head Forest Ranger for flights into wilderness as well as use of chainsaws. From there we hiked in and meet with the IC and wilderness crew that had been monitoring the fire. The plan was made to anchor and flank the fire. A common practice in wildland firefighting. The East flank was hot and moving fast so we took the cooler west flank down from the ridge line. By the end of the day we had the west side lined. Dewey (Gila IHC foremen) and the IC felt that the fire could make a move to the east tomorrow. They called for an additional type 1 crew the Silver City Hotshots.

Cowboys in route to East Elk Fire

IMG_2342, originally uploaded by stevempassmore.

wild west

In route to East Elk Fire

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El Caso Fire

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Mop-up

El Caso Fire

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18 acres

Inside of the buggies

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We drove a lot recently so I figured a picture of the back of the buggies would help show what I was up to. Also as you can see a lot of sleeping goes on.

Dirty Steve

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Rob this is for you... he wanted a picture of the Hawk.

Light House

IMG_2298, originally uploaded by stevempassmore.

When staging for fires it is common to take a tour of the national forest your working in. Since Hiawatha NFis surrounded by three of the great lakes you can't go far without reaching water. For some on the crew this was their first time seeing the great lakes.

Michigan - fish habitat

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Tossing buckets around

Michigan - fish habitat

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I'm not sure why everyone is looking at their feet. They used a bobcat to get the rocks close to the stream then we used the buckets.

Michigan - fish habitat

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Waiting for rocks to arrive...

East Elk Fire. My six person squad got called to a 1/4 acre fire in the Gila NF. We lined it in 15 minutes and spent the rest of the afternoon mopping up and cold trailing.

The Gila had red flag warnings today due to winds and RH/temp. If it had not been a red flag day they might "fire use" a small fire like this. Fire use is when they let a naturally occurring (lighting) fire burn itself out so it can consume forest fuels like a controlled burn would.

El Caso Fire, 21-22nd. We arrived in Negrito after to much traveling on the 20th. No large fires have been taking off in the US. Almost all the Hotshot crews nation wide are headed back home from fires or available(waiting). After depleting our beer supplies upon arrival the night before we expected slow day of fixing tools and revamping gear. Just before noon we got a call to fire in Gila NF. Always expect a fire when you least expect it. The burned area is about 18 acres and they need us to help line it and mop-up.

I don't think anyone expected our first fire to be this late in May. This could turn out to be a slow season. Or at least the slowest in the last few years.

Over before it begin. Another day of fish habitat building. The only difference is our buggies have arrived. We spent the 15th driving to Green Bay to return the rentals then back to Escanaba with the buggies.

The same deal with moving buckets of rock all day long. Around noon we heard the region was sending us home to NM. Severity was over with temps in the 30's and precipitation on the way. The fire in Minn. is completly controlled, Georgia/florida fires are controlled and no one else needs us.

Hiawatha National Forest. No fires in sight, its off to make fish habitat. In the 1980's the YCC (Youth Conservation Corps) added rocks to streams that feed lake Michigan to form spawning areas for fish. Over the years the rocks have been silted over and washed down stream. Since the habitat increased the fish population around 10 percent they figure its worth having some hotshots rebuild it.

All we did was pass buckets of rocks down the line and into the water. In the end it will prove to be some very expensive fish habitat. Hotshot crews aren't cheap to stage.

Rapid River Ranger District. We arrived in Escanaba, Michigan and I couldn't help wondering what we are doing here. The grass is green and its about 45 degrees out. Michigans idea of severity is far different then New Mexicos. Which reminded me during the plane ride I had been reading Fire and Ashes by John Maclean. He mentions briefly the Peshtigo fire in Green Bay, Wisconsin that burned 2400 square miles and killed 1500 people in 1871 (a fire the helped start the suppression mentality). So, fire can rip in this area given the right conditions.

We spent the afternoon planting fire resistant tree species around a local high school. A nice break from traveling but not the big fire I had been expecting. The good news is the last two crews to stage in Escanaba got sent to fires in Minnesota as soon as their buggies arrived.

Change of plans. Our flights have been changed from Minnesota to Green Bay, Wisconsin. From there we are driving rental cars to Michigan to stage for severity in the Upper Peninsula (Escanaba). Mean while our buggies will be driven to us in case we get dispatched to a fire elsewhere (Minnesota?).

Brett burning piles

IMG_2286, originally uploaded by stevempassmore.

Gabe our fill in from Quemado

IMG_2293, originally uploaded by stevempassmore.

Hotshot crews fill open crew spots with local engine and handcrew people. Its a chance for both the crew to recruit and for people to see if they want to hotshot for a season.

Alex being camera shy

IMG_2289, originally uploaded by stevempassmore.

Slash pile burns

IMG_2287, originally uploaded by stevempassmore.

Due to the steepness the slash from clear cutting under the power lines in some areas could not be chipped. The forest service was called in to do the burning.

Back to Negrito. We got called off staging by SWICC (Southwest Coordination Center) http://gacc.nifc.gov/swcc/ Gila got ordered to help with a controlled burn in Silver NM. On our way home we got another call to dispatch instead to Minnesota. We will get Friday off for RR then fly to somewhere in NE Minnesota. Rumor is a large fire with extreme fire behavior and crowning.

Sierra Vista, Arizona. We got called to stage in Sierra Vista due to fire severity. The weather was red flag for the first few day but we never saw any fire. They had us doing PT in the mornings and working on a thinning project until about noon. After lunch we went to Fort Huachuca and played volleyball for hours waiting for a fire call. Our accommodations were hotels and eating at local restaurants. Easy day and plenty of over-time. Not much to photograph in the desert so I only took a couple pictures.

Pile burns. We've spent the last two days burning slash piles underneath power lines that run to Tucson Arizona. The lines can arc using smoke as a conductor to the ground. So we got training from the power company on what to do. The smoke never got thick enough to cause a problem however the second day a few piles caused spot fires about an acre in size.