Everybody was WILDFIRE fighting…
Okay, maybe not everybody is doing it, but I am getting ready to start my first season. To say I’m a little excited is an understatement. It’s going to be REALLY hard work. Long, hot days. I’m going to stink like a sweaty camp sock, and I’m going to get to hike to work EVERY DAY! Plus, I’ll be helping one of my favorite places, the wilderness. I’ll also be helping keep fire from spreading into communities. (If you haven’t watched the Paradise Fire documentary on Netflix, I highly recommend it.) It won’t be easy, but it will be way more rewarding than slinging drinks!
I want to give all you worriers out there a little peace of mind. The BIGGEST thing stressed during training was safety. Having more than one escape route is huge. Also, having a fire shelter and knowing where to deploy it was too. My crew boss has been fighting fire for over 20 years and hasn’t had to deploy his fire shelter. The most common cause of death fighting wildfire between 1998 and 2006 was heart attacks, with vehicle accidents coming in second. That made me feel a lot better knowing that the likelihood of me dying, yes I’m a worrier too, is pretty low. Check out the video at the bottom to learn about fire shelters, it is the actual training video I watched in my class. Fire shelters are a little scary and a little cool all at once.
Some of you got to follow my adventures on the John Muir Trail in 2018 and that trip helped shape me into the crazy person that I am now. I got a Garmin Inreach+ to be able to track my location on that trip and I’m excited to use it to map my travels this summer. If you’d like to follow along and see where I’m out fighting fire, just click HERE and it will take you to my map. I’ll only have it turned on when I’m working, so if you don’t seen any activity, I’m not there yet.
I don’t know when I will be called out to go, but I’m sure it will happen any day now because the temperatures are rising and humidity is getting lower. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions, if not, I’d love your prayers. ❤️
That is nuts!
Prayers coming your way. Be safe young lady!
Thank you so much!