This summer has been a rather exciting one for Seth as the Forest Engineer for the Manti-LaSal National Forest. Earlier this spring, Seth decided he wanted to do the training necessary to apply for his redcard, which would make him a bona-fied Wildland Firefighter. The forest service allows most of its employees to earn this certification so that when they have emergencies and the wildfires are out of control (like this summer!) there are as many hands on deck as possible.
Here he is at fireschool. Wearing his new (old=recycled) sexy uniform. Oh, I have always wanted a husband with a uniform
And wouldn’t you know it, within a week or two, not only were there wildfires burning out of control all over the state, but Seth’s beloved forest went up in flames with a fury. He was there to see it all begin and he said it was mayhem for awhile. He and some of his employees spent those first few days driving all through the forest making sure all the campgrounds were evacuated, the roads were closed, and no one was in imminent danger while they waited for the federal crews to arrive.
Seth took these photos the morning the fire broke out and somehow they were picked up by a national newspaper. He was so proud
Well, with all that fresh training under his belt, I’m sure you can imagine that he was dying to get out there and try out his firefightin’ skills, but he soon learned that since this was his own forest, there was a lot of managing to be done. He spent a few weeks working 16 hour days just making sure all the operations were running smoothly and the different fire crews were all coordinated, etc. He went to press conferences and briefings and met with the State a few times. It was all very exciting and scary at the same time, I’m sure.
When he did finally get the chance to get his new ($300 fire-retardant) boots dirty, he ended up being selected for a B.E.A.R. crew. (Burned Area Emergency Response) since he is a Civil Engineer and they needed one on their team. At first, he was a little bummed not to actually be out there on the front lines, but he soon learned that the BEAR team was an interesting job and a great opportunity for him. He learned a ton, and has since been invited to join another BEAR team on different fire.
So, the main job of the BEAR team was to investigate the fire, report its percentage of containment to the state, and then prepare a plan for clean-up and rehabilitation of the Forest.
Seth also learned that the aftermath of a fire can often be worse than the fire itself.
This is the road. As you can see, they experienced some serious mudslides, which became a major problem when it started raining in record amounts just days after the fire was reported at 100% contained.
So, even though we missed having a husband and Dad around the house for a few weeks, looking back I can say it was such a great experience for Seth. (Not to mention he made a shload of money which was greatly needed…..). He now feels like an “experienced” firefighter, so the next time the whole state is on fire he will just think he is an old hat
The worst part is that we will never really know what happened. Kenni was really sad and she made “Missing” signs for him to hang up around the neighborhood, but I tried to gently remind her that there wasn’t much chance of a 5 inch turtle turning up. Anyway- as I write this it has been a few months and no sign of the little guy. Sometimes I look out in the yard and wonder if he is somewhere out there? Sort of like Fievel Goes West. Anyway- he was a great Turtle while he lasted. An expensive little bugger too, so I hope we don’t have to buy a replacement. Perhaps I could talk them into a hampster instead???
), the trip was a success!
(Ok, just one…..)
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