Wildland Firefighting

With what seems like all of the state of Colorado on fire right now I wanted to dedicate this post to the brave men and women who are out west battling those wild fires right now.  I certainly would not want to be in their shoes right now.

I have fought grass fires in my career but the thought of going up against a blaze that has consumed hundred and hundreds of acres is downright intimidating.  The biggest grass fire I have ever battled was maybe 40 to 80 acres.  Thankfully there was a farmer near by with a disc and he was able to create a nice fire stop for us.  That made our jobs a lot easier that day.  Right now there are countless firefighters gearing up with not much more than axes, saws and Pulaski tools and hiking in to battle this raging wild fire.  That just amazes me.  The task at hand is very daunting to say the least.  I don't know how they do it.

Typical gear of a wildland firefighter

I have a very limited knowledge of wildland firefighting and the tactics they use.  We learned about wildland firefighting in FFI but it was very limited to say the least.  That basic knowledge and the experience I have fighting grass fires is really all I can draw on to try and envision what they are going through.  Firefighting, whether it is structural or wildland, is very physically demanding.  In fact, it is really very difficult to compare the two since the two tasks are so different and that really isn't the point of this post.  These men and women can be gone for weeks at a time fighting these fires.  They are out there with nothing more than what they packed in with them. They battle huge fires that can change directions as quickly as the wind does.  These men and women are busy digging fire stops, cutting trees and doing what ever they can to slow the blaze down.  Its tough work and they need to be recognized for the job they are doing.  Seeing pictures of the current wild fire with 30 and 40 feet tall flames is incredible.

These people do a truly amazing job.  I have heard that wildland firefighters think structural firefighters are crazy for going into a burning building and I think that most structural firefighters think the same about wildland firefighters.  We each have our specialty and we respect the other group for what they do.  We may fight different types of fire but at the end of the day we are all firefighters and because of that they are my brothers and sisters.  They have done a tremendous job with the task at hand and I wish them all the best!