May 29, 2018
Got up early this morning and made the drive up to White Sulphur, to start my Forest Service fire training. It's about 80 miles from Bozeman, up Bridger Canyon, over Battle Ridge, and down into the Shields Valley. Everything was bright and green and the mountains were shining, and I decided it was nearly the most glorious commute possible.
Made it to the ranger station a little before 8, met my boss, and signed the Oath of Office that made me an official Forest Service employee. Most of the day was orientation and training with the other new fire employees ... a group of about 10 of us, sitting in a ragged arc of mismatched chairs in the district's garage-like Fire Cache building. I'm the only lookout here; the other guys are with the district's engine crews, the ones who will drive around in their trucks all summer and do the on-the-ground fire work. Mostly college-age kids, as I suspected, but a surprising variety of backgrounds and personalities.
At least today, it seems like I'm hooked up with a really good group of people, both the seasonal crews and the year-round supervisors. I doubt I'll make any close friends, since I'll be on my own most of the summer, but I think they'll be good co-workers, and people I can rely on if need be. They'll be scattered over the district, of course, and occasionally sent to fires far away. My boss is leaving in the morning, in fact, for a two-week hitch at a fire in southern Arizona.
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Tonight I'm settled into a room at the district's bunkhouse, which is actually just a normal old house, and surprisingly nice. There's a big pile of government-issue gear on the floor next to my bed -- my tools for the summer. A big canvas duffel, a tent, a sleeping bag, a high-end "line pack" with a fire-shelter compartment, a hard hat, gloves, fire-resistant shirt and pants, headlamp, two-way radio, water bottles, earplugs, first-aid kit, a spare MRE. Probably some other things I haven't investigated yet.
Made it to the ranger station a little before 8, met my boss, and signed the Oath of Office that made me an official Forest Service employee. Most of the day was orientation and training with the other new fire employees ... a group of about 10 of us, sitting in a ragged arc of mismatched chairs in the district's garage-like Fire Cache building. I'm the only lookout here; the other guys are with the district's engine crews, the ones who will drive around in their trucks all summer and do the on-the-ground fire work. Mostly college-age kids, as I suspected, but a surprising variety of backgrounds and personalities.
At least today, it seems like I'm hooked up with a really good group of people, both the seasonal crews and the year-round supervisors. I doubt I'll make any close friends, since I'll be on my own most of the summer, but I think they'll be good co-workers, and people I can rely on if need be. They'll be scattered over the district, of course, and occasionally sent to fires far away. My boss is leaving in the morning, in fact, for a two-week hitch at a fire in southern Arizona.
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Tonight I'm settled into a room at the district's bunkhouse, which is actually just a normal old house, and surprisingly nice. There's a big pile of government-issue gear on the floor next to my bed -- my tools for the summer. A big canvas duffel, a tent, a sleeping bag, a high-end "line pack" with a fire-shelter compartment, a hard hat, gloves, fire-resistant shirt and pants, headlamp, two-way radio, water bottles, earplugs, first-aid kit, a spare MRE. Probably some other things I haven't investigated yet.
The T-shirt at the top of the pile marks me as a member of the Forest's fire crew. Check out the design on the back ... guaranteed to make all the girls (and boys) swoon:
It's definitely going to be an interesting time.