6/17/2010

Today is Thursday, 6/17. We left Lake George late Sunday night to drive to Canon City where we met our crew early the next morning (I’m talking 3:30). Then we traveled to Las Vegas, New Mexico where we’ve been deployed to the Tecolote Fire (Tecolote means “owl” and one of the objective for the fire is to save the owl habitat south of the fire (Mexican spotted owls) as well as protect the watershed to the north). When we got here the fire was about 700 acres. Yesterday was a red flag warning day with high winds and low RH (relative humidity), so heavy fire activity was predicted. While fire activity was not as extreme as predicted we did see flames at the end of the day, where previously we could only see smoke. Our first night in New Mexico we camped down at the base camp. I discovered that the sleeping mats Americorps provided were meant to provide insulation from cold ground, not a comfortable cushion. Wish I had a Thermarest! Since then we’ve been spiked out at Johnson Mesa, about a mile from the fire along with several hot shot crews. We wake up around 5:00 each morning, pack up camp, eat breakfast and then hike to where we’ll be working for the day. So far we’ve been cutting line and cleaning up after a dozer comes and rips a line through, creating a contingency line in case the fire jumps over the line already dug below us. We work until after 8pm, then back at camp we prepare for the next day by restocking out water, sharpening tools, and refilling the siggs with gas and oil (for chainsaws). After that, dinner, setting up our tents and then falling asleep for hopefully 7 hours before getting up and doing it again. All day, while working we are carrying our line packs (over 20 lbs), our tools, and fuel for the chainsaws. So by the end of the day my feet are unbelievably sore, my shoulder muscles are tight, my back twinges with discomfort, and my hips are bruised from the hip strap, pulled tight to take the pressure of my shoulders and back. It doesn’t help that we are sleeping on the hard ground.

But it is awesome to be out here, camping under the stars, seeing sunrise and sunset everyday with the backdrop of a burning hill in the background. It’s a wonderful feeling to drop to sleep exhausted everyday, and to wake up and be in the wilderness seeing the beautiful countryside and having this exciting job and unique experience. Its hard. I hurt. But I love it.