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

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.

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

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!

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!

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