My Pacific NW tour July 2014 (Burns OR, Prineville OR, Winthrop WA

[Aaronw]

Just finished a 17 day tour of Oregon and Washington, being assigned to the Buzzard Complex near Burns, OR (5 fires for a total of 396,000 acres), reassigned to the Ochoco Complex near Prineville, OR (4 fires for a total of 12,500 acres) and ended my trip on the Carlton Complex in Northern Washington, near Winthrop, WA (4 fires that burned together creating a single 252,000 acre fire, with more than 300 homes lost).

 

All of these fires were started by lightning.

 

Arrived at the Buzzard on the day it made a 6 mile run. As sage brush typically does, it nearly put itself out the following day. Due to the size of the fire each day involved a 2 hour drive to the division, and a 2 hour return drive to camp in the evening.

 

My arrival in Oregon (13 hour drive from my home unit to the ICP in Crane, OR).

[Aaronw]

Typical view each morning on the 2 hour drive to the line. This road was a tire eater, during the 3 days I was assigned we experienced 15 flat tires. 

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Schools are popular locations for fire camp in remote areas. The supply unit for the Buzzard Complex.

 

 

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Controlling weeds is a serious issue on large wildland fires where you may have resources coming in from hundreds of miles away. This is a typical weed wash station, equipment is required to visit on arrival and before leaving the incident.

 

 

 

 

[Aaronw]

The Buzzard Complex was pretty uneventful for me as I had 3 water tenders assigned to me, and their job was keeping the dust down.

 

Next assignment was the Fox fire (9900 acres) on the 12,500 acre Ochoco Complex outside of Prineville, OR.

 

I had 2 engines assigned to me here, but all the work was done on foot. 

 

Type 6 contract engine and Erickson Skycrane.

 

 

 

 

 

[Aaronw]

My second engine, a USFS Model 448 Type 4 engine based outside of Reno, NV.

 

 

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Skycrane doing its thing

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Erickson Skycrane, these carry a 2000 gallon load of water, they can draft from a river, lake or large tank of water while in a low hover.

 

 

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Sawyer dropping a burning tree

 

 

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2

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3

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Separating the burning tree from the unburned

 

 

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Helena Hotshots on the road

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In a wide open landscape like this landmarks are few and far between. Pink flagging, some cardboard and a tree signify the division break between two divisions.

 

 

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Rare civilian Sikorsky S-70 (UH-60 Blackhawk) known as the Firehawk.

 

Here it is dropping water from its 1000 gallon Bambi bucket

 

 

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Skycrane making a drop on a hotspot

 

 

[Aaronw]

A piece of equipment rarely seen outside of the Pacific Northwest, the Skidgine. A combination of logging skidder and fire engine. The tracked unit carries a 950 gallon tank, the wheeled an 850 gallon tank.

[Aaronw]

Food Unit at the Ochoco base camp.

 

 

[Aaronw]

Camp was again set up at a school. Schools work well for camps providing lots of space for sleeping, parking and offices. In return the schools are compensated which can help rural school districts with their budget. 

 

Here a tennis court makes a nice secure area for the supply unit.

 

 

 

  

[Aaronw]

While at this fire 5 crews arrived from South East and Eastern States (Kentucky, Virginia and Pennsylvania), mostly State and Federal Forestry employees.

 

Typically large SUVs and crew cab pickups are rented for out of area crews, but due to the large number of resources decending on Oregon and Washington, there was a shortage of larger rental vehicles so this Kentucky crew had to do with rather more cramped accommodations. Four firefighters and their gear were crammed into the soccer mom SUV in the foreground.