First Local Fire

The fire alarm sounded yesterday afternoon, and three crews (none of which were my crew) went off to a local fire. Normally, these fire alarms for the local fires are false alarms, so I didn’t pay much attention as the crews departed. Also, since my crew has so many more fire hours than the other crews, I thought my crew would remain in camp for awhile. Yesterday afternoon went on, and the crews did not return. I came to find out that the fire was located in the same town where I used to live. I was given the address, and thankfully, it wasn’t near a densely populated residential area. There are a few rolling hills in the town and still some undeveloped area, which is where I thought the fire was located.

The rest of yesterday (Sunday) was very uneventful. I had dinner in the dining hall, and with the three crews out, there was plenty of room. Additionally, the camp was very quiet. It is usually quiet when all the crews are in camp, but now with three crews missing, it was extremely quiet. I stayed outside enjoying the sunset. I was talking with a few other inmates and came to find out that the C/O who gave me so many problems when I first arrived here regarding the family visit actually suggested to add more rice and beans for the “skinny guy who runs all the time.” Incidentally, now this C/O is extremely cordial every time I am seen. I was shocked to find this out, and it was a very pleasant shock. In fact, I was touched. I was touched because I did not request any of this, yet the C/O has gone out of his way to ensure I am getting enough food. I continue to be amazed as to how well everything is working out. There are only positive energies in my life.

I went to sleep after starting the 11th installment of the “Left Behind” series, “Armageddon” (Thanks Mom). Thankfully, each book starts with the ending of the previous installment because I did forget where I left off but was reminded very well. As I went to sleep, I was thinking about how it was the start of another new work week and one month (July) will be concluding this week. Time does go by quickly. I fell asleep and had my usual night’s sleep. I do my best to wake up at 5:00 a.m. so I can start my day. Invariably, almost every day I am awake before this, and today was no exception. As I stayed in my bed, I heard the voice of a C/O coming from the end of the hall. This never happens, and it is highly unusual. I wondered why the C/O (the same one I referred to earlier) chose to have a conversation with an inmate at 4:30 in the morning. The conversation continued, but strangely, the C/O kept walking down the hall. About three rooms before my room, I heard the words “fire call”. Now this made sense, and the C/O was waking all of my crew members up so we could respond to a fire call. Of course, my first reaction was I would miss my Monday morning run, but I wasn’t devastated. My roommate did have a good quote as the C/O woke him up, “Are you sure you have the right crew?” This was a very valid question because none of expected to respond to a fire call at 4:30 in the morning. Yes, they did have the right crew, and as it turns out, we were to relieve one of the crews which departed yesterday for the local. This would be my first local fire, and I would have the opportunity to see where the fire was located.

The fire calls are very interesting because there is a great deal of hurrying accompanied by a great deal of waiting. I hurried to get dressed and was one of the first inmates ready (mostly due to the fact I was already awake while many of my crew members were sleeping). My sleeping patterns do make me a good “get-ready” firefighter because I never seem to be in a deep sleep. I went outside and discovered we were going to be fed breakfast before we departed. Apparently, there was no hurry, and we all went to breakfast at 5:00 a.m. We had what is called a “fire breakfast.” There was a ridiculous amount of food on the tray. I don’t know anyone who ate all of the food on the tray. I ate the very tasty granola along with the hash browns. I couldn’t give away the eggs or chicken. I must say the State of California does provide ample calories when fighting a fire. I discovered that the state provides 5000 calories per day when fighting a fire. This was told to me by our captain, and this number could even be low because sometimes we are given double lunches.

Breakfast was over, and we boarded the fire bus. Upon entering the fire bus, we were given a sack lunch which, once again, had a ridiculous amount of food. I always look for the protein bars and was happy to discover a “Tiger’s Milk” protein bar which I used to eat all the time. Before entering the bus, I did put on my fire-protective clothing. The ride to the fire wasn’t very long, only 45 minutes, and when we reached the area, I did know it fairly well. The fire area was only seven miles from where my house was located. This area was an open area, but there were a few residential houses located nearby. The fire was essentially out when my crew arrived as the other crews did work through the night containing the fire.

We finally received our assignment after a two-hour wait. As we were en route to the assignment area, I could hear someone call out form a nearby car, “Thank you for saving our homes. You guys did a great job.” This was incredibly nice, and although my crew hadn’t done any work up to this point, the comment was directed at all the firefighters, both professional and inmates, who had worked to contain the fire. This is a rewarding job, and people do appreciate the hard work the firefighters put in. I was touched by the comment.

This was my third wildfire, and just like the two previous fires, the first thing I noticed was the smell and then the blackened wild land. The smell is remarkable, and even though the fire was out, the smell hung in the air. The fire wasn’t very big (190 acres), and fortunately, no one was injured and no structures were destroyed. Our assignment was to walk the burned area looking for hot spots. I have done this before, and when a hot spot is discovered, we are requested to rake the area exposing the hot spot. If the hot spot is extremely hot and ignites, a hose line is called in, and the area is doused with water. While walking on the burned area, I could feel the heat emanating from the ground, and I have to be careful not to stand in one place too long or my boots will melt. This task was complete, and a few hose lines were called in. I did get in a minimal hike and wanted to go higher on the hill, but this portion was covered by another crew.

Most of our work was done by lunchtime, so we found some shade to eat our lunches. We were given another lunch when we arrived at the fire, and I think this lunch contained 5000 calories, itself. There were two rather large sandwiches (ham & cheese and Tuna & cheddar) which I couldn’t even give away. I ate my usual PB&J sandwich, an apple, and a cereal bar. After lunch, our assignment was to remain in the shade and watch the fire line. The winds were supposed to pick up in the afternoon, and someone had to be there if somehow the fire started up again. The winds did pick up, but thankfully, the fire stayed dormant. We weren’t required to do anything until 3:00 p.m., so most of us (including me) took a nap under the trees. I slept for an hour and then got up to walk around. The captain was positioned up in the shade just watching the fire line. Again nothing happened, and when 3:00 p.m. arrived, our task was to pick up the fire hoses on the hill and all around the fire line. This gave me an opportunity to hike a little. Once again, I wanted to go higher on the hill, but one of the professional firefighters was there already. Oh well, I did walk back down with one of the hoses. I remember when I was a kid my father, who is a retired firefighter) would use a fire hose to fill up our swimming pool. I remember that this fire hose was very heavy. It seems things have changed in 35 years because these fire hoses (without water in them of course) are extremely light; either I have gotten stronger, or the hoses have gotten less heavy, or a combination of both. Anyhow, all the hoses were gathered up and rolled by the professional firefighters.

As we finished helping with the rolling of the hoses, our assignment was coming to an end. At this point, we were waiting around to be released from the fire. Of course, there was some waiting around as is always the case. We found the same tree-shaded area. Finally, word came we went back to the place where we waited in the morning for (you guessed it) more waiting. After 30 minutes, we were officially released from the fire and headed back to camp.

We arrived back at camp 14 hours from when the day officially started. The last course of action was the “fire dinner” to complete the ungodly amount of food. The “fire dinner” consisted of grilled steak and grilled chicken along with roasted potatoes, beans, salad, summer salad, ice cream, soda, chocolate bar, and a dinner roll. Everyone raved about the steak and chicken. I, of course, did give mine away and still had plenty to eat. This was the end to a very good Monday and a great start to the week.