Fires and Driving

Nine years ago, I signed up with both CalFire and the US Forest Service to provide contract services with my pickup.  In essence, they rent the bed of my pickup and hire me to drive it wherever they want the contents of the bed delivered. 

Parked on a lookout at the top of Sherman Pass, looking northeast toward the smoke column on my way to the Schaffer Fire 2017

When a major fire breaks out, it is often necessary for the responsible agency, CalFire or USFS, to create a Fire Camp, referred to as an Incident Command Post.  As is typical of governmental agencies, it becomes known as the ICP. 

The ICP quickly becomes a city of support for the several hundred firefighters and support personnel assigned to the fire. Porta-potties by the dozens, a hot shower trailer, and a kitchen unit, are all quickly brought to Fire Camp, set up and made operational. 

The ICP also becomes the operational headquarters for the fire. All the management folks have offices and trailers parked in two long lines.  Time-keeping and accounting offices, human resources, often even a copy center, occupy other locations along the two rows.  A communications trailer and a medical trailer, are often parked near the other trailers but often are not in the double row. Big generators are connected in several places, and power is daisy-chained, or linked to all the trailers and offices.  Finally, if there is phone service available nearby, phone lines are often linked between the offices. This double row of trailers, each with their entries facing the area between, is referred to collectively as “Main Street” for this is where the business of putting out the fire occurs.

My job on the fire is drive my pickup and work for Ground Support.  This group usually has a location for their office off to the side and some distance away from Main Street.  Depending on the size and complexity of the fire, the Ground Support Unit Leader will place an order for a number of drivers, such as me.  Of course, each driver has been contracted with a pickup or truck and will need a place to park it near Ground Support. 

The Ground Support trailer to the right, and parking for GS Trucks in the background.  This was from the Pier Fire in 2017, in the mountains directly east of my home. The rolling steer statue is explained below.

 

This very tongue-in-cheek sign was posted on the rolling model of a fat steer.  ICP was on the Fairgrounds in Porterville.  This is a play on the fact that a pickup with wooden racks on the side of a flatbed is called a Stakeside. But the GS folks got bored, so made up the above sign.

When I am dispatched on a run, I may carry anything from fire hose, pumps, lunches, hot meals, ice, water, gator aide, or automotive parts.  Sometimes drivers will be sent to a nearby airport to bring someone in “overhead” to the fire, or deliver them back to the airport to fly home, or to their next assignment.

This was one of my assignments on the Rough Fire in 2016.  This is a lot of used firehose, pulled from the burned area and staged here. This is a large load on my truck, but there was a one-ton flatbed truck who was also on this run, and he also had an even larger load.

When the USFS manages a fire, all personnel, including drivers, bring their tents and sleeping bags and bed down nearby.  We are told what areas we can utilize to set up our camp.  Everyone picks a secure spot, hopefully for the drivers, not far from where we park the trucks.  Some ICPs are in the beautiful high country, so camping there is quite pleasant.  Others are in lower, and often much warmer locales, and are not nearly as pleasant places to camp. 

My camp among the tall pines on the Schaffer Fire in 2017.  This was at the  9,000 ft level, so night-time temperatures were delightfully cool, making sleeping very comfortable.

When CalFire manages a fire, all the management personnel sleep in motels in nearby towns. However, firefighters and other working class folks, sleep in tents and sleeping bags.  On State fires, the meal preparation is most always provided by a Mobile Kitchen Unit (MKU) manned by prisoners.  On USFS fires, the meal preparation is usually provided by contractors with huge meal preparation, serving, and storage trailers. 

Tent-City on the fairgrounds during the Pier Fire in 2017.  My tent was 100 yards away down the left fence.  I was able to park very near my tent, so worked out well.