United States Forest Service

[Monrovia1]

ANF Crew Buggy.

[Aaronw]

Technically not a USFS vehicle, but Expeditors is a common contractor for transporting on call Type 2 crews. Type 2 crews are 20 person handcrews with lower experience standards than Hotshot crews. These busses are typically used for transporting EFF (Emergency Firefighter) or OC (on call) crews contracted through a forest. These crews are organized through the older laws that authorized a forest ranger to essentially shanghai the local "menfolk" to form fire crews in an emergency. The days of clearing out the local bars for firefighters is long gone (that practice ended after WW2), these crews are now voluntary and pre-arranged, and they receive the same training as USFS firefighters. Colleges and agricultural workers are now the primary source of recruits.



These busses will also be used for "Forest Service Regulars" aka the militia, non-fire USFS employees put together into a hand crew. Traditionally the majority of USFS employees were cross trained as firefighters, but in recent decades this capability has dropped as the workforce has changed from many field going positions to more office oriented work.



Full time USFS type 2 crews (fuels, trails, timber etc) typically have their own vehicles (mostly vans, SUVs or 6 packs) well suited to carrying all their tools to te jobsite.



Photo by Aaron Woods

[Aaronw]

Mormon Lake Hotshots buggy.



The Mormon Lake Hotshots are based in Flagstaff, AZ on the Coconino National Forest. Region 3 (AZ/NM) Hotshots use a sightly different design of crew buggy from the R5 (California) crews.



Photo by Aaron Woods

[Aaronw]

Plumas Hotshots Superintendant truck. The Plumas Hotshots are based on the Plumas National Forest, near Quincy, CA.



Photo by Aaron Woods

[Aaronw]

Del Rosa Hotshots in the late 1960s. Open top cattle trucks like this one were still in use until the 1970s when school buses began to be used. The Del Rosa Hotshots are based on the San Bernardino National Forest.



Credit San Bernardino National Forest Archives

[Aaronw]

Del Rosa Hotshots buggy in 2006.



Photo by Aaron Woods

[Aaronw]

Del Rosa Hotshots Superintendant truck.



Photo by Aaron Woods

[Aaronw]

Fresno Blue Cards, an on call type 2 crew based on the Sierra National Forest. Many forests that sponsor on call crews provide retired hotshot buggies to their on call crews. These crews are provided with a USFS crewboss to provide additional supervision and to deal with the paperwork (crew time sheets etc).



Photo by Aaron Woods

[Aaronw]

Pleasant Valley Hotshots Superintendant truck. The Pleasant Valley Hotshots are based on the Tonto National Forest near Young, AZ.



Photo by Aaron Woods

[Aaronw]

Cass Lake engine, Chippewa National Forest, Minnesota



Credit Chippewa National Forest archives

[Guest]

Nic work and pic of the old truck and new truck

[Monrovia1]

Another Contract Hand Crew on a brush fire in Northeast Pasadena CA.

[Monrovia1]

Valleyemro Crew 4B.

[Aaronw]

Sierra National Forest 1942-47 Ford "Green Hornet" 280 gallon tank, there is a large Wisconsin pump on the back (probably 100-200 gpm)



In the 1940s Region 5 somewhat standardized (locally shop built so there are variations) on this style of pumper. The 2 wheel drive engines were nicknamed Green Hornets, the 4x4 engines Marmon Herringtons (after the MH 4x4 conversion).



Credit Sierra National Forest archives

[Aaronw]

Heaps Peak Helitack truck, Heaps Peak is based on the San Bernardino National Forest



Photo by Aaron Woods

[Aaronw]

National helitack truck H-404. National helitack is based on the Salmon Challis National Forest (Idaho)



Photo by Aaron Woods

[Aaronw]

Missoula Helitack truck, not all forests choose to purchase a large helitack truck, this is an example of one of the smaller truck designs. Missoula Helitack is based on the Lolo National Forest near Missoula Montana.



Photo by Aaron Woods

[Aaronw]

Sierra National Forest CWN (call when needed) helitack truck. This is a smaller helitack truck used to support a call when needed helicopter or as a reserve to one of the larger trucks used by the exclusive use crews. It is attached to the Sierra Helitack crew.





The USFS has two type of helicopter contract, exclusive use which provides for a set period of time that the helicopter will be dedicated to use by the USFS (generally the whole 4-6 month fire season). These contact helicopters are almost always used by a regular 7-14 person helitack crew. The other type of contract is known as call when needed, this is a contract prepared before the fire season, but it only puts the helicopter to work when there is a need (usually backfilling behind an exclusive use ship, or due to a going fire that requires additional helicopters). When not needed the company is free to use the helicopter for what ever other work they do. The daily rate is considerably higher on call when needed contracts since there is no guarantee of work.



Call when needed helicopters are staffed with some of the members of an exclusive use module (one reason for the large crew size), and / or other qualified USFS employees. Most of the large Type 1 helicopters like the Skycranes are under call when needed contracts, although a handful are under exclusive use contracts (the Mariposa HT truck posted earlier is assigned to a type 1 helicopter module).



Photo by Aaron Woods

[Aaronw]

Sequoia National Forest Patrol 47, Model 20 engine 75 gallon 85 gpm.



The Model 20 is a very long lived design, first introduced in the 1960s as a slip on engine. It was used as a light engine for many years with a 2-3 person crew and tank up to 200 gallons. Since the late 1990s they are used almost exclusively as a patrol truck with a small 50-75 gallon tank and a single prevention technician (sometimes an additional FF left behind when an engine goes to a fire off forest will be assigned).



Photo by Aaron Woods

[Aaronw]

Model 20 engine, 1970s. 50-85 gpm aux pump, 125-200 gallon tank



Credit USFS archives