Fire Pictures

Here are some of the pictures of what we have seen this year:

Demob day

Today we were demobed. The complex of fires has been mopped up and is cold. There may be a few interior stumps smoldering, but that is about it.
I apologize for not having much excitement so far this season. We have been sent out to three fires and all three have, for the most part been out or almost out by the time we got to them. However it is a long season. This is just getting started. We still have all of August. I will try to get some pictures up later on.
Even though. It has been a bit it has been interesting to say the least. For example the day before yesterday they had two people life flights off the fire line due to dehydration. All total that day there was five or six people who suffered from dehydration and one with an ankle injury. Yesterday there was one of the engine guys who had dehydration issues. Several of us assisted him along with the medic. It ended well as he was able to walk out on his own. He can be thankful for his engine boss being able to recognize the symptoms of dehydration. He was fortunate.

Bottom line is even though there is little to no fire out there it can still be dangerous out here. It isn't just the fire you have to watch. Sometime it is the human element as well. Perhaps sometime I will explain in detail what that means, but not today.

We are tired and stinky. We hiked all over the mountain as we couldn't get the engines to the fire edges due to rocky terrain. Also we were spiked out. That means we were not at the main fire camp. So no showers :( we also ate out of food buckets. The good part is we had portable toilets. So that being said I'm going to hit the showers and clean up and rest up for the next dispatch coming soon......

Stemler fire

Just to update everyone. We are on the Stemler fire. One of the fires on the Kitten Complex. It is lined and we have been seeking out the hot spots.
The hot spots don't always smoke and so you have to Seek them out.
We had only a few stump holes yesterday.  They have told us there is still head on the fireline so we will search for them.
Hasn't been much fire to speak of. Some Internal smokes. Yesterday there was a juniper that torched and a helicopter was called to put water on it to prevent it from spreading. However it was well inside the fire line.

Indecision

Our resource order was for the Stemler fire. We checked in at the BLM shop to get inspected and check in. While there we received another order. This time they sent us to the Kitten fire. Then we were sent to the fire camp to check in there. Then we let the operation people know we are here so we could have an assignment in the morning and they said we would likely be on the Brogan fire.

All of these fire fires are now part of the Kitten Complex.

So tomorrow we will find out what we are doing for sure. One thing you can count on in the fire world is change.  It is the one thing in the fire world that is consistent. Constant change. Also the hurry up and wait mentality.

At any rate I will let you know more in the morning.

Fire update

Sorry I haven't updated you on our status for a couple of days. But here is the latest. We were demobed off of the Buzzard Complex.

As we drove home there was a large thunderstorm that covered most of Eastern Oregon. The lightning was spectacular. As it turns out there was over 19,000 lightning strikes.

So as you might have guessed we have received another dispatch. We are going to Vale.
There were six new large fires. I don't know to much but a type 1 team has been ordered and will be managing the fires. I believe the name will be called the Kitten Canyon Complex.

For more information click here: http://www.nwccweb.us/content/products/intelligence/MORNINGBRIEF.pdf?7/24/201410:12:46AM

We will be leaving this afternoon. Stay tuned for updates.

Staged!

After our repairs we went  back down to Crane. We thought it was for a demob and reassignment.  As it turns out they are trying to find a place for everyone to go. So we have to wait for a new assignment. If we don't get one In the next 24 hours then we will demob and go home. We are hoping g for more work.

Here is some pictures of our break down:

Renewed hope

Good news this morning. We will be getting the truck back with in our 24 he period. So we won't miss a beat. We were fortunate to have been able to get the parts we needed.
Later we will find out what we will be doing. We will either go back up on the Line or we will be assigned to another fire. I will keep you posted.  Stay tuned....

Down and out?

So they say cap happens. Murphys law, or whatever.  We were on our way to the line today and our axle seal blew out. So we nursed it back to Burns and as I write this it is being  pulled appart. So if fortune follows the foolish we will be back up and running by late tomorrow.  I will keep you posted. Stay tuned.......

Spiked

We are going to a spike camp closer to the fire. We may be there for a couple of days and then be reassigned. I may not be able to post anything for a couple of days. See you soon.

On the move

We had a slow night last night. You saw the pictures of the fire.  It looked like that for about and hour.  The rest of the night was slow and uneventful.

We made it back to camp this morning at 6 ate it is hard to itand went to bed. But I tell you this it is difficult to sleep in a gym with people coming in and out all morning long. But the good news we were being moved.
We are not only moved.back to day shift but we're currently on our way to juntura. Ultimately it is the other side if the same fire.
I am sorry there hasn't been much excitement to post. But the fire season. Is early and we will have lots of good stuff to post.
I will try to get more picture for you as well. I did get some nice film of the big caterpillar digging line. I will probably post it later this season or just after.  It depends on the time i have.
Keep  checking  back. I will do my best to update you every day if possible. Be safe and don't forget to tell your loved ones you love them.

Long shift

We just finished a 24 hour shift. Not much happened. The hand crews and one dozer completed the section of line they wanted us to do. A small victory.  We supported the crews as a lookout and water support. Although we didn't need to use the water because everything went as planned. Enjoy the pictures and keep looking for updates

Change of scenery

Not much happening here at the Gum Boot fire. It is out except for a occasional stump hole.
So we are being relocated at the Buzzard fire. I will update as I can.

Dispatched

We just received a dispatch to the Gum Boot fire out of burns. As I can I will put upload pictures and also the inside scoop. I don't know what the phone service will be but I will post as I am available.

Game on!

Fire season is going full force. The last set of thunderstorms we had didn't start very many fires. The ones it did start we're quickly taken out.

However this latest storms ignited fires all over the region. To keep up on the latest check out this link: nifc.gov

From here you can look at the sit report here: http://www.nifc.gov/nicc/sitreprt.pdf , or here http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/  for the latest.

This afternoon there were contractors being mobilized and dispatched to fires all over the region. We we're put on alert and expect to be sent out sometime tomorrow, the 15th.

When we get our dispatch I will post as I am able to do so. You can follow the ride. I will give you the inside scoop on the goings on. Inside the lines as it were. So check back regularly we are about to begin "fire season 2014".

The aftermath

Wow what a night. Last night was a photographers dream. There was so much lightning.  There were numerous fires started as a result. You can check it out here:

http://www.nwccweb.us/content/products/intelligence/MORNINGBRIEF.pdf?7/3/201411:27:13AM

Most of the fires are small and have been handled, however there are going to be holdovers. The next few days will expose them.

For now we are still waiting for a dispatch. Until then we wait.......

Fire season nears

The national weather service has posted a Red Flag Warning for eastern Oregon.  Check it out here: http://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=ORZ049&warncounty=ORC061&firewxzone=ORZ644&local_place1=La%20Grande%20OR&product1=Red+Flag+Warning&lat=45.34394&lon=-118.08105

In a few days we could be dispatched to one of the fires these storms starts.

For those of us who want to work this is good news. For those of you who don't want to see fire's, I understand.

Stay tuned........