Stanislaus Hotshots. Fairview Fire. September 2022. Riverside County, CA.
As climate change continues to exacerbate wildfire intensity across the western US, it has become devastatingly clear that the suppression-oriented management strategy of the past century is deeply misguided. It has long been time to reintroduce and re-imagine fire—to think of it as a biological agent to be respected and guided, as opposed to a mere chemical phenomenon to be controlled and fought.
Returning fire (or allowing its return) to the landscape presents its own challenges, however. The Wildland-Urban Interface continues to expand, thereby putting communities at greater and greater risk. Fuel is already overloaded, or, as fire historian Stephen Pyne puts it, "messed up forests only yield messed up fires." And many within and without the fire management establishment, including vested political and economic interests, still favor the status quo. One thing is for sure—the young men and women in yellows and greens are going to be kept busy. Whether they continue to function as the firefighters of old or evolve into something less like soldiers and more like stewards, they will need all the support they can get. Many are already being pushed to the mental and physical brink.
I moved to Oregon in June of 2020 and promptly joined a wildland fire handcrew. Occasionally, I overhear talk of longer and longer fire seasons, poor land and fire management practices, and mental and physical burnout. In slow moments, I find myself wrestling with the cognitive dissonance generated by the knowledge that my work is often unhelpful—even harmful—to the landscape that I love. Still, big-picture concerns are, for the most part, drowned out by the day-to-day experiences and interpersonal aspects of firefighting. Most of us are out there precisely because we relish a mental and physical challenge—because amidst the discomfort and stress, we also find a sense of pride and thrill and adventure. Thus caught between the macroscopic and microscopic—the abstract and the concrete—it can be hard to tell what or where our limits actually are.
Matt holds a burnout. Six Rivers Lightning Complex. August 2022. Six Rivers National Forest.
Gabe, Squad Boss
At the mouth of Little Big Elk Canyon. Buffalo Pasture Fire. July 2021. Crow Reservation.
Aaron gets hot boot while falling a cigar. Radford Fire. September 2022. San Bernardino National Forest.
Colton burns out a section of line. Six Rivers Lightning Complex. August 2022. Six Rivers National Forest.
Nate, Firefighter Type 1
When a smoke column becomes a thunderhead. Caldwell Fire. July 2020. Modoc National Forest.
Nathan grids up a moonscaped hillside. Buffalo Pasture Fire. June 2021. Crow Reservation.
Hunter and David punch in the cut. Buffalo Pasture Fire. June 2021. Crow Reservation.
Jerrod tries to stay awake on night shift. Six Rivers Lightning Complex. August 2022. Six Rivers National Forest.
The Radford Fire burns. September 2022. San Bernardino National Forest.
(Brandon) Blood, Squad Boss
Stanislaus Hotshots dig line on night shift. Deerhorn Fire. September 2022. Hoopa Valley.
Cody and Hunter watch a helicopter approach for a bucket drop. Buffalo Pasture Fire. June 2021. Crow Reservation.
Discovered while mopping up on night shift. Mosier Creek Fire. August 2020. Mosier, OR.
Peyton reads weather. Six Rivers Lightning Complex. August 2022. Six Rivers National Forest.
Stanislaus Hotshots take lunch. Fairview Fire. September 2022. Riverside County, CA.
Jerrod holds a burnout. Six Rivers Lightning Complex. August 2022. Six Rivers National Forest.
Nate in the back of the buggy. August 2022, Madera County, CA.
Cody, Squad Boss
Bucket drop. Radford Fire. September 2022. San Bernardino National Forest.
Holding a burnout. Six Rivers Lightning Complex. August 2022. Six Rivers National Forest.
Ryan gives Parker a haircut in camp. Juniper Fire. July 2021. Modoc National Forest.
Matt in the back of the buggy. July 2022. Madera County.
Stanislaus Hotshots wait for a briefing. Six Rivers Lightning Complex. August 2022. Six Rivers National Forest.
Standard Mystery Ranch fire pack with medic's attachment. October 2022. Six Rivers National Forest.
Napping before night shift. Six Rivers Lightning Complex. August 2022. Six Rivers National Forest.
Aaron falls a snag. Deerhorn Fire. August 2022. Hoopa Valley.
Down time before shift. Six Rivers Lightning Complex. August 2022. Six Rivers National Forest.
Shuttling in by boat. Big Bar Fire. October 2022. Six Rivers National Forest.
Keeping warm in camp. Red Fire. September 2022. Yosemite National Park.
Anthony, Firefighter Type 2
Stanislaus Hotshots mop up. Mosquito Fire. October 2022. Tahoe National Forest.
Aaron sharpens his chain. Radford Fire. September 2022. San Bernardino National Forest.