Yetna River Fire (19 img)

coldclimb · July 2, 2007

I've been quiet for a long time now, since I got on with a fire crew and haven't had time for much else. Haven't even been taking pictures since all I've done is work and sleep. I did manage to get a new camera small enough to take on the fireline though, so here's a few shots from the first fire I brought it on. Enjoy!

Richard watches the smoke from the helicopter on the ride in.

Most of the crew on a quick meal break during initial attack.

Patrolling the left flank.

Jeremy works a hotspot after our helicopter slingloads were mistakenly delivered to another fire, leaving us without hose and therefore water.

Richard and the black.

Andy enjoys an MRE on the line.

You've got to love fire to fight fire.Here, Jeremy plays with matches.

Self portrait on the fireline.

Aaron enjoys a break. Cigarettes can get expensive on fires, I've heard stories of a pack selling for fifty bucks.

Fireline portrait of Jeremy.

Gridding for hotspots.

Burnt birch trees

This one was actually burnt down to a spiral of bark holding up a branch at the top. The angle is confusing, but I shot this holding the camera INSIDE the tree, looking straight up.

Most of the crew, working a "candle" we dropped. A candle is a standing birch that is burning inside, which it can do for a surprisingly loooong time.

Gannette Glacier Fire Crew.

Waiting for the choppers to take us home.

They demobilized us in blackhawks, since there were so many other fires going.

Nikolai · July 2, 2007

Wow!

coldclimb wrote:

I've been quiet for a long time now, since I got on with a fire crew and haven't had time for much else. Haven't even been taking pictures since all I've done is work and sleep. I did manage to get a new camera small enough to take on the fireline though, so here's a few shots from the first fire I brought it on. Enjoy!

Quite a profession you got!

Thank you so much for sharing!

gus · July 2, 2007

Very interesting shots

The place looks too green/damp to burn.

aj986s · July 2, 2007

Wow. The pics very revealing. I applaud you for working such a dangerous job. Thanks for an insider's look!

Tommyboy · July 2, 2007

Riveting pictures of what appears to be grueling work. Thanks for such an interesting insight. . . .

coldclimb · July 3, 2007

gus wrote:

Very interesting shots The place looks too green/damp to burn.

Thanks for the comments everyone! Yeah it's not at all a dry area, and in fact the fire was started by lightning during a rainstorm, so it's interesting to see how big it got. We stopped it at about 50 acres, but if we hadn't been lucky it could easily have gotten away from us and just kept going. Especially without a hose lay all the way around it for the first few days. In the end, the rain helped us out a lot, even if it made us constantly soaked.

jdryan3 · July 3, 2007

Great images. Nice use of the WA up close for the portaits. And the burnt birch image is excellent!

Dee · July 3, 2007

Incredible insider's view
Amazing photos, and it started by lightning during a rainstorm?

I'm glad you were able to document this fire and share with us!

ian408 · July 4, 2007

Reminds me of walking through a fire at Sequoia & Kings Canyon some years back. The fire crews were actively fighting the fire. What had burned was a fine powder and made the landscape look like the moon. The burned out trees (fine on the outside and nothing on the inside) as well as burning stumps made it a warm=on-the-feet two mile hike out of the fire zone.

The part John didn't mention was not lost on my walk. Stuff that burns above also burns below and sometimes unseen. Step in the wrong place...

Nice work on the pictures. And thank you for doing the job so the rest of us can enjoy the wilderness.

Ian

Elaine · July 4, 2007

Wow! What a great series! Very nice work! Thanks for sharing this viewpoint with us!

Awais Yaqub · July 4, 2007

Wonderful series ! thanks for taking and showing photos stay safe

coldclimb · July 5, 2007

ian408 wrote:

The part John didn't mention was not lost on my walk. Stuff that burns above also burns below and sometimes unseen. Step in the wrong place...

Yeah I've seen some pictures of nasty burns from firefighters stepping in deep ash pits. It's pretty interesting how it can look just like everything else around, and yet be a three-foot deep hole filled with burning ash.

Thanks again for all the comments everyone!

drif10 · July 7, 2007

You do the job justice with these pics. Thanks for the reminders, I can taste the smoke again.

ian408 · July 7, 2007

Hiya driffy

Thanks for stopping by.

Yetna River Fire (19 img)

Comments