A “Wake UP!!” brush fire for Fritz & Heidi

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Roman

Trad climber
Bostonia
Aug 23, 2010 - 01:15am PT
Fritz, I used to live in Nampa, ID (14 years ago) and remember the wildfires that regularly occurred there and to the west. It's only recently though that I got the certs I needed to get a job fighting wildland fires. These pics are really great as is the play by play. Thanks a ton for posting.

Ron Anderson, you are absolutely right that the line was backing in the pic. Thanks for pointing that out. I had overlooked that and that's a very important thing to notice.I'm new at analyzing fire behavior but trying to look at all I can.
Brokedownclimber

Trad climber
Douglas, WY
Aug 23, 2010 - 09:56am PT
Crock-

I wasn't implying that I had to fight the fire alone; one neighbor, Eric D.,has one of the M35 converted fire trucks parked just 3 miles (by road) away. John S. has an M37 equipped with a water tanks and pump, also 3 miles away. Wyoming state law states that they can conscript every able-bodied male between ages 16 and 65 to be on the fire lines, need be...
The fires are usually out before I even knew they started. Another neighbor, Kevin H. , is State-trained as a "Fire Boss."

The comments by Rokjox have some merit--there IS a lot of money dished out during fire season--to fire crews, helicopter services, etc.
Fritz

Trad climber
Hagerman, ID
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 23, 2010 - 10:35am PT
We had some fire visible all night, and it was still burning north of here this morning. There isn't much area along the Snake River near here, left to burn.

I also have a long-ago Forest Service fire-fighting background. Two summers on helicopter fire-crews, and two-summers as a district grunt, during which time I did a little bit of everything, including fight fire.

So have no major disagreement with Rox's assertion:

I really don't understand why if your guys were worried about the fire, you didn't just cross the river and pick an end of a fire line and begin working to reduce the active line until you are left with a small contained area that would quickly burn itself out.


However getting to the fire by the one-lane road was difficult for two reasons.
1. A county sheriffs car blocking it, and allowing no-one in.
2. Fire trucks blocking it.

Rafting down river 2 miles from the closest put-in and attacking the fire commando-style didn't occur to us.

It seemed perfectly logical to me, that after the helicopters knocked the fire down the first time, that the BLM tanker crews would drive down and kill the remaining hot spots.

Turned out the BLM tanker crews were in high demand elsewhere. There were two rural fire district rigs over there, but they were under BLM command and were only to engage the fire to save structures on that side of the river.

So the fire burned on, while our local fire crews sit on our side of the river, hoping it would jump, so they could do something. Our very savy fire-chief was 40 miles away on the far side of the fire doing BLM work: so maybe that made the local crews less assertive.


Brokedownclimber

Trad climber
Douglas, WY
Aug 23, 2010 - 02:15pm PT
Fritz-

Did you have to cancel your trip?

BDC
Fritz

Trad climber
Hagerman, ID
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 23, 2010 - 02:35pm PT
Thanks all for posting your thoughts.

Ron: I agree with your fire-insights.

Brokedown: No Way! The fire is all but out, and there is darn little left to burn over there, for many miles.

I am looking forward to black dust storms and black rain, until the Cheat Grass comes back this fall.

I'm going to go take my Donini-climbing-dose. Haven't had him hurt me climbing since the early 80's, when he was leading 5.12's and I was leading some easy 5.10's.

Now I'm leading 5.7's and---and----and---- he's still leading 5.12's.
Brokedownclimber

Trad climber
Douglas, WY
Aug 23, 2010 - 02:37pm PT
Fritz-

Have at it! Climb hard, climb safe.

BDC
Ezra Ellis

Trad climber
WA, & NC & Idaho
Aug 23, 2010 - 11:34pm PT
Fritz,
Have a great trip with Doninni,
You HAVE to post a photo TR 'bout the tooths!
-e
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