Cuz
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Before I continue I need to explain what it means to Nomex up. All firefighters are required to wear Nomex clothing (pants and shirt). Nomex is a fire resistant material that protects the body from the heat of the fire. Once we confirmed that it wasn’t a joke we immediately got dressed in our Nomex and doubled checked all of our safety gear. Crews one and three had left for the Reche Canyon fire at about 4:45 or 5:00 p.m. My crew didn’t leave just yet because we had to wait for our regular captain, Tony Hernandez. We waited anxiously because from our camp we could see two separate fires blackening the sky even before the darkness settled in. We were all becoming hungry, and not wanting to go on the mountain on an empty stomach, I passed out two M.R.E.s (meals-ready-to-eat) to each crew man. When the captain had finally arrived which was about 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. we were ready to go. After he had arrived we still did not depart immediately. We left the camp at approx. 7:00 o’clock. As we were driving down the on-ramp of the freeway we could see the flames of the Fontana fire. As we neared the Reche Canyon fire we saw the flames were huge. Probably about 10 to 13 feet tall. In some other corners about 20 to 25 feet tall because of the large amounts of fuel (grass, brush, trees, etc.). When we had arrived we parked in what appeared to be a temporary base or headquarters. There were several engines, water tenders, and hand crews, all waiting for orders. When we had got there we saw Norco crews 1 and 3, which is where we parked. We got off the bus in full gear and waited for the captain to come back to give us instructions. He told the crew that we were waiting for further instructions. He told everyone to check all of their safety gear again. To make sure that we all had our water and extra batteries stocked. He told the swamper and myself to carry fussees [flares] and flagging. We stayed for about 20 to 30 minutes until they told us to load up again. All of Norco’s three hand crews drove to another location where we waited for maybe an hour and a half. The crew that I was a part of was still hungry. At that point I was laying next to the side of the bus resting. Another crew man passed out the M.R.E.s to the rest of the crew. The place that we were parked at was at the bottom of one of the many hills that was surrounding the area. We could see the fire burning but the anticipation had burned out. We had been working all day and now, tired from just driving around, we wanted to just sleep. I rested for only a little while before I got up to mingle with the other two crews. After waiting what seemed like hours we were told to load up again. We got on the freeway again and it seemed like we were driving in circles. I knew that we were driving to a location called the Pigeon Crest which I assumed was somewhere on the other side of the mountain. When we had got there, we did a hot tool out. A hot tool out is when the crew gets off the bus in hook line order (the order in which the crew is lined up and will work in). As each men gets off the bus he is handed his pre-assigned tool. I had to get off the bus first because I was responsible for passing out the hand tools. Once we were ready to go our captain gave us a safety briefing in which we ran through the ten fire standing orders and watch out situations. We then began hiking up a road that led to the side of a house. Once we reached the house we were on rocks and dirt with the fire blazing below us some 50 to 60 yards from us.
We started hiking several feet down the hill below the house. As we were going down the hill we passed by multiple cages that varied in the type of animals. There were goats, warthogs, sheep, rams, wolves, birds, and a few other types that I couldn’t identify. We continued down this hill for a couple of feet and we turned upwards to cross over what seemed to be a huge piece of rock. We paused there for several seconds as our captain was receiving instructions. We stood there long enough for me to look down at the two other Norco crews as they had begun to engage in firefighting. I envied them because they were down there already and I smiled because for some it was their first time. I was a bit upset because I was at the back of the line. I was second in the lead and it was my responsibility to make sure that no one gets injured or falls behind. Each hand crew has a dragspoon and they are mandated to carry a first aid pack. So the captain is generally first and then the swamper, who is first in lead after the captain. I wanted to be in front in order to be where all the action was at. I had been on several fires by now, and it always seems like I miss out on the action. The captain, swamper, and dragspoon all carry shovels. My tool was a combination of a shovel and a rake at the end of a piece of heavy wood. The shovel is responsible for putting out flames with dirt. I have had to do a lot of shoveling on previous fires and expected not much on this particular fire. The captain called out “tool out” which means to start hiking.
“Tool” is stop hiking. We hiked over the rock that was below the house and started hiking straight across on the upper side of a hill. Because it was dark it was very hard to see where we were walking. The path had a lot of holes and slippery grass. And to make it worse, it would take nothing but a mere slip to go falling down the hill that was mined with rocks and rattle snakes. We hiked maybe for about 20-30 yards across before we started to go down. On hills like this one the path could go down and then directly back up all while going straight across. As we started to go down we had to be careful because there were numerous drop offs. The rocks were jagged and sometimes would go straight down 7-8 feet and then going into another drop off that was just as slippery and dangerous as the first. We hiked down several of these and in the process one of my crew tried to go around the drop on the bottom side and slipped. I was unable to get to him immediately but there had been a crew man from crew three that was there to assist in coming down and he was able catch him. At this point I thought about the Humboldt fire when myself and two other crew men were sent back up the mountain to get water and 600 feet of hose to bring back down. The terrain in Humboldt was unforgiving and mental error would have you falling back down the mountain, possibly breaking bones or bashing one’s head on a rock. On the way back down one of my crew men was maybe 30 feet in front of me. We were walking down the mountain backwards using the hose to propel downwards. As I was holding the hose I heard it bust below me. I stopped to turn around to see what had happen. All I saw was my crew man tumbling down what seems now had to have been a 80-90 feet drop. I had let loose of the hose and started to immediately slide down the mountain where it hard dropped off at. I almost flew over the drop off and would have if I didn’t plant my left foot to a tree. When I had come to the drop off, I asked him if he was o.k. He didn’t respond immediately but he was moving. I yelled to two other firemen who I believe was from Station 62 or 61. They told me to stay where I was and one of them went down to get him. I was worried and fearful because I knew the possibilities of being injured real bad. And it’s disheartening to see any firefighter get hurt real bad. I started to feel guilty but I understood that there was nothing that I could have done. We are trained to keep at least 10 feet between the man in front of you and going down a steep hill more space is required in order to prevent a domino effect of falls and cutting someone else with your tool. Well, needless to say, he made it up o.k. yet, on this Reche Fire, after that slip I became 100 percent more aware and alert.
We all made it down safely and joined the other two crews. Our crew had to go back some yards and start cutting line where the fire had already ceased burning. When we caught up to the other two crews almost everyone was working. Some were just standing and watching. At that point all of the shovels were called to the front. When I had got up to the front the flames were high and hot. I could feel myself growing stronger instantly. My captain had told me and the swamper to stay in front to throw dirt on the fire. Immediately I was working. I surveyed the line of the fire and its approach. Myself and a couple of other shovels formed a line started to throw dirt on the fire. Sometimes I was 3 to 4 feet from the fire and at other times I was two feet away. The shovels dictated which way the line would be cut. We followed along the length of the fire working hard. The other two crews had given a couple of shovels to some of the other crew man. Crew men would switch when tired. At one point a crew man was standing in
the way and I had to scream at him ‘if you’re tired, get the hell out of the way. You’re slowing everybody else down.’ He accepted what I said because I was a known worker. Although I had only been on the crew for three months I was a quick learner. I had established myself as a person who wanted and enjoyed getting the job. As I worked I could feel my arms and shoulders become as heavy as mortar stones. But that only fueled me. While we worked, the three crews began to merge as one.
Some way or another I ended up being the front shovel. When you’re working in the fire line your only concern is doing the job and you can work so hard that when you look up you will see several differences. In this instance that I looked up I noticed that I was in front. I also noticed that we had covered a lot of ground. I tried to take a fresh and deep breath but that was unsuccessful. Most of the time when you’re up front it is plague with smoke that waters your eyes. Our captain has this example of what it is to fight fire. He says that if you haven’t been at a fire where you are constantly tearing up, breathing hard, and drinking your own snot, then you haven’t fought a fire. Forgive me for what may appear disgusting but for every firefighter these aspects are as real as death.
FIRE BURNS ALONG A HILL LINE ENDANGERING HOMES
If you haven’t been put in a position to when you have to run from the fire, it is for two reasons. The first is because you were safe and the second is because you were blessed. Even when enforcing the safety rules and watch out situations, anything can happen. What seems safe one minute, can mean death in the next second. Mere change in the direction of the wind can have you running from a fire that more than likely is burning faster than you are running. That is why it is very important to stay aware of what is going on. For a second I didn’t, and that could have been costly. I had to turn around for a second to find some fresh air before I continued. Once I had gathered myself, I observed what the fire was doing. I looked back to see the saws really going at it. Some underestimate the work of using a saw during a fire which is why many don’t last on the saw. To use the saw takes strength, determination, and heart. It is a very grueling task and probably the most important one. The crew man using the saw has to cut brush, trees, and it is difficult to do in the night on slippery grass and rocky drop offs. I must admire the resiliency needed in saw men to get the job done. When I turned around I saw that the path we were going on was going to drop off in trees and thick brush that seems to stand like brick walls. I went back to shoveling dirt onto the fire and for several yards ahead I could see that the flames weren’t as high as when we had first begun. My swamper had radioed the captain to see if there were any further instructions or should we change our approach.
The captain responded to continue in the direction that we were going. The swamper started down a steep and thick brushed dropoff. I followed behind him. The saws were maybe ten to fifteen feet behind us. Once we got down the drop off it became difficult to determine which way to go. The fire had burned out in this particular drop off, so there was no heat to deal with except what rested within the ground. There were hundreds of branches, as thick as Louisville Bats, going every single direction, up and down, left and right. The swamper had to use his shovel to break up certain parts of the brush and when he couldn’t maneuver his tool he would have to use feet and legs to break the restraining brush. The captain radioed him to come back for some reason or another. It left me up front to make a path for the saws. I had to follow along the burn so that nothing would be missed. It was very dark and although we had head lamps, the brush was so thick you couldn’t really see which direction was best. I heard the saws coming down behind me as they were cutting line. At that point, as I was working through the brush, my pack and nomex got caught on some branches. As I tried to untangle myself I became frustrated because the branches would break. Why? I have no idea. I slipped on a thicket. I hadn’t realized how tired I was until I was trying to get out. . . . It seemed like it took forever to get out and I was physically exhausted but that meant very little too me. Although spending quite a bit of energy in untangling myself, I managed to get a second wind. . . . I continued to guide the saws through the brush. Of course, it would be easier for them to get through because they had a machine to cut the brush but that doesn’t include fatigue and being just tired. We had strong saws that I had cut through thick brush and probably on much worse terrain. I guided them for maybe 40 to 50 minutes before we came around one of the mountains on which the fire was burning on.
When I came around, after crawling through and under the brush, I was greeted with another part of the fire that was burning crazy. The danger was that there were several trees burning that were 35 to 40 feet tall. As I got closer to get a better look at the area, I saw a tree that was maybe 60 feet tall that was burning in and out of the tree. The branches on top of the tree were burning as much and at intervals were falling down. The saws were about 30 feet behind me. I saw a few of the captains on top of the hill so I hiked up real fast to explain to them the situation and the terrain. My captain told me to go back down to where the saws were and to bring them up and away from the burning trees. We took a small break because for an unknown reason nothing else around the trees was burning. We waited for the tree to burn out so we could cut line on the green side of it. It took about 30 minutes before the tree was burned out. There was still a tremendous danger because the tree was still burning within and at any time it could fall over.
One of the swampers flagged the tree with flagging that says, “Killer Tree.” I’m not sure which one did it but afterwards we all got back up and went down the hill back into the drop off. It was easier going up then it was going down. We formed a super crew between the three crews and went back at it. It was approximately 1:00 o’clock in the morning. Once we were past the burning tree, the terrain became easier. We continued to cut line for about 20 minutes and the burn started to turn upwards at a curve going up a steep hill. We had been cutting line without any fire near for several minutes but as we started up, we could see the fire on the hill. It was burning fast. It was pitch dark except for the light was emanating from the flames. When we were on top of the hill waiting for the tree to burn out, you could see engines because their lights were on but down in the drop you could see nothing. The only light that existed was what was given by the head lamp. When the captains saw the fire on the hill, they immediately called the shovels to go up the hill first. Myself and two other swampers went up immediately. The other guys who were assigned shovels had managed to hide. I’m assuming that they were tired and I mention that for several of these guys this was their first fire.
As we climbed up the hill, as fast we could, we could see that the fuel on the hill was thick and tall. Once we got up there we started shoveling dirt onto the flames. Captain John Harrell was right up there with us shoveling dirt onto the fire. Captain Harrell was old, very old, but you wouldn’t know of it, unless you were told so. He had the most hike out of all the captains. He stood about 5’4” and probably weighed about 165lbs. You rarely find captains that are willing to work and be on the front line where the fire is at. I respect him a lot because he was always working and he had a love for the job and it wasn’t just work for him. Since the brush was so thick, the smoke as well was very thick and the shrouds that we are given as a part of safety gear aren’t always enough to protect from inhalation. . . . As we worked deeper into the burning area, there were constantly multiple drop-offs. I must remind you that it was very dark. At this point the light that we were receiving was from the fire.
Once we completed that task we hiked up to where the other two crews had stopped at to rest. We got there and took our gear off and rested for about an hour. That was when they had delivered lunch to us or breakfast. I think it was about four in the morning. . . . The captain called us into a circle and gave us the instructions for our next assignment. We were to protect three houses while U.S. Forestry back burned a particular hillside even though the area that was being burned was about a football fie
ld away. Whoever’s decision it was felt it necessary to have hand crew near more or less. It was for show. After being on your feet all night we would rather be fighting fire instead of standing on guard. What was more insulting was the fact that there were a few engines that were there. These engines can stop a fire faster than a hand crew. I’m not quite sure what was the reason for us being there. We stood between the back burning area and the homes about twenty to thirty feet apart. I was able to nap during intervals while standing. The only thing I do better than firefighting is sleeping. One of the battalion chiefs pulled up to talk to our captain. Apparently, they knew each other based on them hugging and shaking hands. When you have been fighting fires for a long time, you accumulate a lot of acquaintances. After they talked for about twenty minutes, the captain said that we could sit down but we had to keep our gear on, including helmets.
HERE ENDS MICHAEL’S REPORT on the Pass Fire and the California Fire Siege of 2003.
In the days after Michael’s experience fighting the Pass Fire, we talked about it a lot on the phone. I was hugely moved by his experience, by the matter-of-fact way that he described fires I’d seen in photos and that even just as images struck terror in my heart. I couldn’t imagine the intensity of the heat. I urged Michael to write up his story. He committed to a daily writing goal, promising to send me his memoir at the end of the week. The ALL CAPS 6-page continuous paragraph that he mailed captured the unrelenting attention a firefighter must give to fire. You can’t change direction, you can’t break your glance, you must know where the fire is, you must keep moving without cease. In the heat, you can barely take a breath. You must never let your guard down, ever.
The more formal 99-page after-disaster report on the October Fire Siege mentions inmate crews twice, once in a small photo and once in the final section of recommendations: “IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the California Department of Corrections and the California Youth Authority place the highest priority for assignment of level one inmates and wards to staff Conservation Camp Fire Crews.” Although the Department of Forestry wanted as many invisible firemen as it could get its hands on, the inmate crews didn’t get any tickertape parades or keys to the city. The members of these crews knew, though, that they were doing worthy work. Michael’s words attest to that.