2009 Employment

UFA Wildland Bureau is now accepting applications for the 2009 wildland fire season. An application is available on the Unified Fire Authority website (http://www.unifiedfire.org/) under "opportunities."

The application will also be available soon on our wildland bureau site. We are currently experiencing technical difficulties posting it there.

Another Season Ends

Another successful wildland season has come to an end for the Unified Fire Wildland Resources. Both crews and engines ended the summer with a tour to the Umpqua National Forest located north of Medford, Oregon. All were assigned to the Rattle Fire, a problematic incident that had been burning since mid July. With help from our excellent choice of tactics and of course, Mother Nature the fire slowed and nearly all resources were released.

The crews and engines returned home with just enough time to rehab gear, have our end of the season party and send everyone on their way.

Due to the hard work by everyone involved, 2008 was a safe and successful season for the UFA Wildland Division.

Tioga Fire, Inyo National Forest, CA

Salt Lake 1 and 2 are off to California again. This time to the Inyo National Forest to help support their initial attack activities. We have spent the last two days on the Tioga fire, a 22 acre, human caused fire next to Mono Lake, about 100 miles south of Carson City, NV.

Salt Lake 1, after working a night shift motored off to the one tenth acre Log Cabin Fire just around the bend from the Tioga.

Both fires are nearly wrapped up

Devil Fire

Salt Lake 1 and 2 jetted off to the Devil fire northwest of the Great Salt Lake on sunday night. We arrived home last night after three days of desert fun at the Bureau of Land Management's Rosebud Field Station. The fire burned 1588 acres the afternoon before we arrived, but once we arrived the wind-driven pj and sage had cooled off significantly. We put in saw line around a portion, and Shaun Mullins, as Dozer Boss - Trainee, helped put dozer line around the rest of the burn.

For more info, click on the title of this post, or go to www.utahfireinfo.gov

Spring Lake Fire

Immediately after declaring the City Creek Canyon Fire "controlled" Salt Lake 2 was dispatched to a new start in Utah County. The Spring Lake Fire, started by powerlines, was burning actively just outside of the town of Payson, Utah. When we arrived, 15 mph winds were pushing the fire towards the town. Working until 2:00 am, we were able to burn out a portion of roads outside of the town and help ferry the fire up into the hills.

After a few hours of sleep, we were right back at it, constructing direct handline up a ridgeline above the community. With the help of a fleet of heavy tankers and SEATs, we were able to make good progress.

As of monday afternoon, the fire is in a state that it can be turned back over from the Type 2 IMT to the local district.

To see some of the news coverage along with photos and video go to:
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=3928344

City Creek Canyon Fire

City Creek Canyon Fire

Salt Lake 2 is currently wrapping up operations on the 130 acre City Creek Canyon Fire.

ICT4(t) Riley Pilgrim states that "it was a tough battle for the first day, but we've been able to get hand line around the whole fire and we will probably be able to put it in patrol status soon."

Salt Lake 2 arrived at nightfall on the first night of the incident where we proceeded to construct handline in conjunction with 10 smoke jumpers up the left flank of the fire. We completed about half of it the first night, then finished the entire flank by 1230 the next morning. The fire has a large amount of dirty oak underburn and we've been busy putting out "political" smokes in the fire's interior.

Goslin and Wilkins Peak Fires

Salt Lake 2 spent half a day on a 250 acre fire just north of Dutch John, Utah on July 25th. We were dispatched on the evening of the 24th and drove to Dutch John that night. The fire was wind driven through grass, sage, and pinyon-juniper. A finger had made a run up to a ridge which wasn't engine accessible, so they needed a crew to work the finger and a few spots. The crew put in saw line and worked 2 helicopters in tandem to knock out the remaining heat. By 1400 thunderstorms had moved into the area and rain and lightning forced us back to our vehicles. We "ping-ponged" down the dirt road, turned slippery by the rain, back to the main highway 191.

Almost released, we were reassigned last night to the Welkins Peak Fire about 6 miles south of Rock Springs, Wyoming.

We spent about three hours putting in saw line around another wind driven sage and pj fire.

This morning we're finishing saw line around the fire which is estimated at about 35 acres and preparing for another round of afternoon lightning storms.

As soon as Steve Davis, FFT1 (t), finishes GPSing the fire perimeter, we'll have an accurate acreage.

Canyon Complex Round 2 - Night Operations

Salt Lake 2 has returned from our second tour on the Canyon Complex in Northern California. We arrived on July 6th and were shipped out to the Frey Fire, 2.5 hours south of Quincy, California on the Plumas National Forest. Our first shift lasted 24 hours as the team shifted us over to the night shift where we spent the entire 14 day deployment.

Due to typically highter relative humidity, cooler temperature, and more favorable winds, night operations consisted largely of burning out indirect fireline that was constructed during the day shift. We succeeded in first connecting the South Fire to the Frey Fire with a 2.5 mile burnout, then began working on connecting the Scotch Fire to the South/Frey Fire with a 6 mile burnout. The latter operation was being completed as we turned wheels back towards Salt Lake City.

Other experiences of note: poison oak, CA con crews, warming fires 101, daytime shade sleeping, the great hoselay / line dig operation abandonment, and more.

The crew will take the 22nd and 23rd off then go back available on the 24th at 0600. Hopefully having readjusted our bodies to sleeping at night and being awake during the day.

Canyon Complex - Cold Fire

Salt Lake 2 is on the road heading back to Salt Lake City for 2 days of R & R after a 14 day tour. We finished the tour on the Cold Fire, part of the Canyon Complex based in Quincy, California. Resources are stretched so thin, with over 60 large fires in California, that the team has kept us attached to the incident while we travel home and take days off. We will be returning to Northern California on July 5th.

Nate Siemers is finishing a whirlwind CRWB - trainee assignment. The crew constructed a few miles of handline and sawline, conducted burnout operations, directed bulldozers, engines, and installed hoselays.

Riley Pilgrim spent three days acting as a Dozer Boss then the rest of the tour as a Task Force Leader trainee.

Jefferson Halladay, a UFA paramedic, accompanied us on this assignment. He was the first paramedic on scene of two medical emergencies. The first, a dehydration / exhaustion emergency, the second a bulldozer rollover. Edward Arriola commanded the emergency scene while Jefferson and our EMTs provided medical care. Edward facilitated an emergency helicopter hoist extrication of the patient off of the side of the mountain. The patient was then flown to the nearest trauma center with a number of potentially serious injuries.

Norther Cal. Lime Complex

After our daring kitten rescue last week, engine 301 took several days off to recuperate. Within an hour of being back on shift we and 302 received resource orders to go to the Shasta Trinity National Forest in Northern California. Once we got coffee, we hit the road (first things first).

We saw several fires en route and traveled through some of the wind and lightning storms that started the ongoing California fires. Outside of Reno we were about blown off the road in a dust storm. It was a baptism by fire for some of the new CDL drivers.

We spent the night in a park in Susanville because there was some sort of music festival going on and there were no rooms available. We had one citizen try to talk us into sleeping at his house,use his showers, and eat his food and another citizen who dropped off a cup of coffee and a bag of donut holes in the morning. Other citizens treated us to their 3000 watt car stereo systems at midnight, thinking we would like to rock out. After that all was calm except for the sprinklers in the park which did cause for some entertainment. Watching people run around at midnight in their underwear trying not to get wet never gets old.

We arrived at the Lime complex ICP in Hayfork, Ca around 1100. We were assigned to one of the many, many fires in the surrounding area started by lightning. We spent our first day on fire for the season plumbing a fire with 4000-5000 feet of hose. We even let the Hot Shots spray some water. There are many more fires that need attention so I am sure we will be moving around frequently.

Primer rib with horseradish tonight.....oh and sleeping in the dirt next to the pig stalls at the fairgrounds.

Northern California

Both Salt Lake 1 and Salt Lake 2 just finished 5 days on the Corn Creek Fire with Edward Arriola as our Division Supervisor Trainee on division B (Bravo). After a couple of days of securing the fireline, mopup, and a bit of monitoring, the fire was declared contained last night and turned back over to the local district for management. All of the new firefighters got a good introduction to desert firefighting with steep, rocky, sandy terrain, rH in the single digits, classic fire camp food, and sleeping next to power generators in camp.

We were both able to put a bunch of miles on the new 4-wheelers scouting old logging roads, moving water to the crews, and escorting BAER (Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation) team members.

Last night we all received resource orders to Operations Northern California. Apparently there are a number of new starts and an incident management team is being assembled to manage resources and suppress the fires. After demobing last night, we are all on the road. Salt Lake 2 will be stopping in Magna to make some personnel arrangements before heading west towards Reno, while Salt Lake 1 has chosen a route through Las Vegas and then north on CA-5.

Engine 301 and 302 have been enroute since yesterday. Both crews anticipate arriving sometime on monday.

go to: http://calfire.blogspot.com/ for more information on the fires in california

Corn Creek Fire

Edward Arriola left today to live it up on a division supervisor trainee assignment with Harvey's Type II Incident Management Team. The team is responding to the Corn Creek Fire near Escalante, Utah.
Go to: http://www.utahfireinfo.gov for more information

Engine 301 Rescues Kitten

The crew of Engine 301 happened upon a 3 month old kitten hiding in the brush next to the road in Butterfield Canyon this afternoon. We were up there doing some project work and heard a loud mewing as we hiked by. From the condition and behavior of the kitten, we assumed that it had been abandoned there by someone earlier today. Some people! It had no collar and no tags but was obviously a clean, healthy house cat. I am certain it would not have made it through the night without meeting a coyote or larger cat. We took the kitten to Curry's house. His girlfriend was gracious enough to offer it a home for now. If you would like the kitten, call Curry.

Bullhog Chip Rx

Salt Lake 2 just returned from helping the Salt Lake BLM with a prescribed burn just south of the Dugway Proving Grounds in Skull Valley. We completed saw work around a number of compartments and then assisted the local resources with ignition and holding.

Go to:

http://www.utahfireinfo.gov/rx/SLFO/Release%20about%20RXs.pdf to see a press release regarding the Bureau of Land Management's proposed 2008 prescribed burns, and to

http://www.utahfireinfo.gov/rx/SLFO/Bullhog%20Unit%202%20Map.pdf for a map of the burn unit 2

3900 South Command - Jordan River

Salt Lake 2 went on our first fire of the season today. A half acre fire in the Jordan River Bottoms at about 3900 S and 1100 W. We responded with a number of different agencies who were able to knock down the fire before we arrived. We were then able to utilize our saws and manpower to build hand line around the fire and mop it up.

2008 Season Update

Both Salt Lake 1 and Salt Lake 2 are currently available nationally. Engine 301 and 302 are in the shop again. Continued problems with the hydraulic pump system.

With a foot of new snow in the Wasatch and the foothills greener than the Amazon, it appears unlikely that there will be any local fires in the near future.