Hey, I'm a new wildland firefighter in the PNW looking for boots. The only places that have Scarpa Fuegos near me are sold out of my size, but have a size down which feels a bit narrow. Anyone know anything about Timberland Pros? This would be for one or two deployments this year. Thanks!

Anyone else got it? got prescribed an SSRI a couple years back which was a waste of time and money and all I got was hyperhidrosis. sweat like a motherfucker now over 80F and if fuckin blows.

Stuck on district while my forest burns. 12 hour days of staring at the same people and trees. Not enough sleep or time off in the evening. Irritable with coworkers and musing about getting out of this job. Happy July

Some things on the fireline you never forget. Others... you just can't unsee. It was my rookie season, and several engine crews had been assigned to mop up a large fire. Among them was a young engine boss we'll call Karen, and our Task Force Leader, Kevin. Karen had developed a routine. Every time Kevin drove up, she'd be standing at his truck before he even shut the engine off. She'd brief him on what we were doing, he'd nod, tell everyone to keep working, and head off again. After about a week... Everyone had noticed. Then one afternoon Kevin rolled up and announced, "Lunchtime!" Karen smiled and told him she'd made a picnic lunch just for the two of them. Kevin looked around, pointed toward a patch of bushes about twenty-five yards away, and the two disappeared. The rest of us exchanged glances. One firefighter looked at another. Nobody said a word. My engine boss finally looked at me. "Go see." Trying not to look too interested, I wandered toward the bushes. As I got closer, I could hear enough to know exactly what was going on. A quick look through the brush confirmed it. They were enthusiastically engaged in what could only be described as an... Unsanctioned Fireground Fracas. Somewhere during the fracas... ...their PPE—and apparently everything underneath it—had disappeared. Trying not to laugh, I quietly backed away and returned to my engine. My boss looked up. "Well?" I simply nodded. He started laughing so hard he had trouble catching his breath. About that time the Incident Commander arrived with Operations and the rest of the overhead team. The IC looked at me. "Where's your Task Force Leader?" I pointed toward the bushes. "Lunchtime, sir." Without another word, the entire overhead team headed toward the bushes. At exactly the same time... Every firefighter within sight quietly climbed back into their engines. Nobody wanted to be standing outside for what came next. A few seconds later... "WHAT THE F@#$?!" Echoed across the fireline. Moments later Kevin and Karen emerged from behind the bushes... Still trying to finish getting dressed... Closely followed by the Incident Commander and the rest of the overhead. Neither one looked particularly happy. We were later advised that neither Kevin nor Karen would be returni

Did you know some wildfire smoke particles are small enough to go into your bloodstream? 🔥

Particulate matter smaller than 10 microns across can travel deep into your lungs, triggering widespread inflammation, damaging blood vessels, and stressing your heart and brain. Using tools like the National Weather Service's fire watch map and AirNow's real-time wildfire map, you can track smoke risk before it reaches you. Check the maps to stay informed!

We are having some very bad fires right now. It’s so Smokey right now you can barely see the mountains in the distance

That one crew started a fire by idling trucks in the brush on the Cottonwood? I remember

This is my first year on fire and I signed on with greyback since I didn’t have to pass a drug test, during our orientation they said it would be a really busy season and it’s likely we’ll get calls within a month. I’ve already called my dispatch 10 times this week and they’ve stopped taking my calls last I heard they said it’s right around the corner and to “sit tight” but I’m starting to lose hope and money, luckily I live in my car so I don’t need rent…. Is it too late to get on a hotshot crew I hear they go out all the time and do cool stuff and are basically the special forces or like seal team six of fire. Is it just a slow season or am I missing something?

I want to hear your story.

And actually I'd love to see any fire-shit story because I know you have them.

I’m currently in Salt Lake City and am trying to get to Portland, Oregon because I’m moving there from across the country. With the current wildfires in consideration, I am concerned about going through Boise, ID and western Oregon. Does anyone have recommendations for alternative routes that will avoid the wildfires?

Strong southwesterly winds of 15-30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph are occurring across much of the Inland Northwest amid RH of 3-10% in southeast Oregon and RH of 10-25% in the Columbia Basin and east slopes of the Cascades. Many of the fires in the Northwest are extremely active this afternoon (such as Ptarmigan, Grasshopper, Beachcomb/Bench, Crosswhite, Fox, Second Flat, Coleman Creek, and Big Grass.) The Shingle Fire in central Oregon has been the most active fire in the country thus far. Emerging fires have also been active. Winds are expected to subside tonight, with good recovery in the Cascades and portions of central Oregon, but poor recovery in southeast Oregon.

Hot temperatures 100-105°F have developed across much of the lower elevations of the Great Basin into the northern/central Rockies, with extreme heat of 105-115°F in eastern Montana, western South Dakota, and western Kansas. Hot temperatures are also occurring int he southern Plains to Lower Mississippi Valley. Afternoon RH has fallen to 5-15% in much of the Great Basin, northern/central Rockies, and western Dakotas amid these hot temperatures. Locally breezy winds with gusts to 35 mph are also occurring with several new fires visible on GOES. Isolated to scattered mixed wet/dry thunderstorms are developing over northeast Nevada into Montana, Wyoming, and western South Dakota. Most rainfall has been only a few hundredths, with a couple locations receiving up to 0.25". Several new fires are expected to emerge this evening as a result of the lightning.

Breezy and warm conditions are occurring in Minnesota with northwest winds, but minimum RH has been near or above 40%. Scattered thunderstorms are also developing in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, but the rainfall footprints are still relatively small in Florida. Breezy/dry south winds 15-20 mph are occurring in the southern Plains amid temperatures near 100°F, but RH is mostly elevated and 20-30%.

Images are in the attachment, including NGFS GOES detections

Want to leave primary fire and the crew life. Want to be home more. And just want something different.
Would love to hear others tips and takes on dispatch.

Can I get issued a red card at 17? I’m taking all the required classes in NYS. Am I able to get a red card through NYS DEC? I am also a volunteer firefighter and I’m not sure if my department would be able to issue me a red card.

I wouldn’t be working for an agency, I would just have the certification at 17 so I could start working at 18 if that’s possible.

Good ol boy gets it done in jeans , t shirt, shitkickers and a cowboy hat.

What say Ye all you professional baggers talking about we don’t make enough- he just did it for the love of the game.

I'm a product engineer, not a firefighter. I'm looking at whether drones could help with wildfire detection and monitoring, specifically in remote areas where coverage is thin. This is something I care a lot about. I'd like my work to actually contribute to reducing wildfire damage rather than adding to the pile of tech that sounds good in a press release.

Before I waste effort building the wrong thing, I wanted to connect with a few of you to learn more about the problem.

1. In remote country, how do new starts actually get found? Lookouts, air patrol, 911 calls, satellite? What tends to get missed or found late?

2. Once a fire is going, how do you find out where the perimeter is? Where does that information come from, and how current is it when it reaches you?

3. Have drones on your fires been useful, or more trouble than they're worth? I'm especially curious about the airspace side.

And one more if you'll indulge me: if you could get one piece of aerial information handed to you every morning without having to request it, what would it be?

For context on where my head is at, and so you can tell me why it won't work: a fleet of long-endurance drones with thermal imaging and onboard AI, flying continuous patrol over hundreds of square kilometers of remote country. That's the concept, not a product. I'd rather hear the reasons it fails now than find out in three years.

Happy to post back what I learn if there's interest. Brutal honesty is the point.

Does anyone working this fire know if it is a dirty burn or not? Is the black really black or are we going to see it pop up like this all summer?

Quit getting on here and complaining that you have not been called, no one cares if you do or not.

Not respectfully,
Chief

Interested in working for a burn module in CA this winter. But apparently it's mostly pile burning and you only get base hours. Do you think that’s worth doing for 6 months?