Little Bear Fire Detail

So, I went to New Mexico and fought the Little Bear fire.  The 10-day detail was quite the experience.

I had plans to spend the weekend in Conway, AR with Leigh and was looking forward to a relaxing weekend.  I had been in Leigh's apartment for no more than 30 minutes when Nick, my Team Leader, called and said we were going to New Mexico and asked what I thought.  I said I'd hop back in the rental car and be on my way.

From Saturday June 9th to Sunday June 10th I went from Oklahoma to Texas to Arkansas to Texas to Oklahoma to Arkansas to Texas to Arizona and then Finally to New Mexico.

I took a few notes in a notebook each day to help me remember.  According to the notebook, the detail went like this:

Saturday, June 9th: I spent 15 hours in a car.  From driving to get the rental car, to Leigh's, back to the rental place, back to our housing, and then up to Fort Smith to stage for our flight the next day.  By the time I got back to housing I had a total of 20 minutes to pack my bag for the next two weeks.  We finally arrived in fort smith late at night and were briefed by our Crew Leader, Dwight, and Crew Leader Trainee, Tim.  We finally crawled into bed at midnight.

Sunday, June 10th: 3:45 am wake up to get to the hotel by 5 am!  We flew from Fort Smith to Dallas to Phoenix.  When we arrived in Phoenix we staged at the airport for close to 9 hours waiting for more news while Dwight and Tim worked on logistics.  Sunday definitely started our 16 hour days.

Monday, June 11th: We started the 5 am wake up that would be a reoccurrence for the rest of the detail.    We had a 7 hour drive to the Little Bear fire.  We arrived, went through mobilization, and headed to dinner.  Meals were all 3,000 calories. So much food!  I never was able to finish, but most of the guys did.  We worked hard for those calories.

Tuesday, June 12th: First actual work day!  We worked in a division where the fire was backing down to.  We strengthened the fire line by cutting trees and dragging brush out of the fires path.

Wednesday, June 13th: Mopping up.  A crew lit a backfire and our job was to mop up the line.  Mopping up is making sure all of the hot spots and embers are out and there isn't a danger of them crossing into the unburned areas and relighting.  We also moved to spike camp.  Spike camp is an area away from the big Incident Command Post.  We were closer to where we were working, in an area of burned forest that isn't in danger of relighting because all of the fuel is gone.  Dinner came to us in 5 gallon buckets.  It was still pretty tasty.  I also decided to forego setting up my tent along with most of the crew and enjoyed sleeping under the stars for the rest of the detail.

Friday, June 15th: More mopping up.  We were doing tons of hiking and at a pretty high elevation.  My feet were holding up but starting to hurt.  My pack seemed to get heavier each day, even though it stayed a constant 25ish pounds.  We had such a great crew.  So thankful for them.

Saturday, June 16th: Sleeping outside again.  It definitely got cold at night, but not unbearable.  I'll pack another sweatshirt next time.  We did so much hiking!  So much.  It was tough but I could tell I adjusted more and more each day.  It also rained today.  We through our gear in garbage bags that morning.  Such a good idea, considering it started pouring.  We were pulled off the mountain and hiked down.  The rain steadily started getting heavier as we hiked down.  By the time we were back we just climbed in the trucks and waited out the rain.

That's the end of my little notebook notes.  Days were so tiring, and we got a maximum of 6 hours of light sleep a night.  We all loved it though.  So much.  No one could believe we weren't getting paid (except for our AmeriCorps salary).  The guys on the crew made more in one day than we made the entire time.

We spent the rest of the detail mopping up in a new area.  Not the most exciting thing, but an essential thing.  Details usually last 14 work days, but because containment on the fire was going so well we were cut at day 10.  We drove back Oklahoma in the rental vehicles and besides the van breaking down on the side of the interstate just outside of Amarillo, it was fairly uneventful.

So many more details, but I'm starting to forget.  And it's late and I'm tired.  Did I mention I'm in a hotel on the way to the Waldo Canyon fire, getting ready to do it all over again?  Definitely going out of AmeriCorps with a bang.  Wish me luck.