HOTSHOT

[Ty208]

What’s up boys. Just curious how many RS members here are active in the IHC scene, or, spent time payin dues. Myself, I spent seven years on a crew as lead saw with my C unlimited feller. Nothing like a screaming stihl. Since doin “time” on a crew, I’ve been working with the operating engineers as a foreman moving big dirt. And I’ll tell you, there has not been a damn summer that’s passed that I don’t reminisce on my days workin on a crew. For that matter, there isn’t anything I miss more. Never worked harder and have never been surrounded by better men. So many years have passed, I’ve lost touch with the guys and the lifestyle. The crew life is not prominent in San Diego and life moves fast doesn’t it? So, here I am. Figured I’d reach out and see what’s up these days. What crews do we have lurkin around here? Who are the roughneck crews these days? Etc etc.. I’m curious what the response will be. I can’t think of a better place to strike this conversation. Bump up

 

[farmer14]

I was wondering when this was going to come up. I’m currently a squad leader down in SE New Mexico. Been on a crew for going on 10 seasons now with a summer of smokejumping mixed in there.

There are still alot of hard nosed crews out there but the way we fight fire has changed drastically even in the past 5 years, all mostly for the good.

Seems like we are in fire season year round now and it’s not much of a break anymore. If I do ever hang it up, I too will miss it. I’ve met some of the best people around on the line and continue to do so. It’s good to hear there are some RS’ers out there who know about the lifestyle... “2 more chains” haha

 

[Ty208]

Lol, Copy that Farmer. We have a Jumper in the group. Impressive. Who’d you jump for? What crew are you with now? I’m assuming your FS? I was curious to hear how the safety parameters changed after Marsh walked down that drainage. In 94-00, safety was there but, getting line in was THE priority. Glad to hear there’s still some salty crews out there. I came up with guys like Klienman and linane. Two of the toughest men I’ve ever stood beside. On a side note, how was your hunting season?!

 

[Jon Boy]

Wyoming IHC here. One of the last old school crews in R2 it seems. Spent the whole summer in colorado last year, hoping for a change of scenery this year. A few more months and we will be back at it!

 

[Ndbowhunter]

thought hotshot is a guy who brings oil tools out to rigs. Different meaning apparently.

 

[goodgrouper]

my 21 year old son has been a skidgine operator for the last three seasons. he really loves it. He likes the challenge of getting the respect of the hotshots he's supporting. technically he can just sit on the machine, but he loves jumping out and working hard with those guys.

 

[Jon Boy]

my 21 year old son has been a skidgine operator for the last three seasons. he really loves it. He likes the challenge of getting the respect of the hotshots he's supporting. technically he can just sit on the machine, but he loves jumping out and working hard with those guys.

Those are always the best operators.

 

[Ty208]

Wyoming hotshots. Worked with you guys several times many moons ago. Strong and experienced crew back then. It’s been interesting watching all these new crews pop up. There were just over 60 crews around in my last days. Last count I had there were over a hundred currently. Some of the superintendents I see runnin these crews were ground pounders or squad bosses in my day. I know they are runnin strong crews with high levels of experience. Curious about some of the others though. No disrespect intended.

Workin the skidline is no joke. Kudos to your son for gettin in with the boys. That says a lot about his character. Strong work dad. Anyone else here involved in the Wildland community?

Farmer, I’m interested to hear how tactics and strategy have changed. You mentioned quite a bit of change. FYI, my hats off to you guys still at it. Not many people understand just what we do. Hope this thread keeps goin. Maybe we need to start dropping pics?!

 

[Sled]

Ran a saw for a couple years on a type 2 ia crew out of salt lake. we had a good reputation and often got favored by the overhead since they could work us as hard or harder than the type 1's for less money. we also had quals that trumped the type 1's. at one point there were 4 people qualed to be the sup and half of the crew were leads at minimum. it never hurts to have several paramedics on your crew as well.

 

[Ty208]

Sled, not all deucers are slouches. The SQF had a 21 man fuels crew back then. Dubbed Type 2. We worked a lot with them on local IA’s. Those boys had their shit together. The big disadvantage they had was the lack of off forest assignments. We new fire across the west and how to engage accordingly based off our exposure. I can’t recal many times we were on a division and felt out of place. I.e. not knowing local factors such as minor and major weather patterns / behavior. New fuel types and / or terrain. That’s what makes a Type 1 so unique. We can fight fire anywhere in the west and basically know what to expect. Did we rely on local resources for intel? Absolutely. But, when you engage fire in virtually every region year after year. You learn. I don’t know a type 2 crew that carries that exposure or diversity. Ever fought fire in the tundra of Alaska? The brush of SoCal? Washington timber late season? The chinook, Santa Ana or sundowner winds? It’s not just a long winded red card or who can do the most pushups. It’s can I pull your crew at any moment, drop you off 1,000 miles away and count on you to perform at 100% with little to no resources? Just sayin.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

FALC/FAL1 here as well

 

[rooster440]

I grew up out west, had I not joined the Marines there’s a high probability I’d of gone that route. That type of work has always appealed to me. Stay safe fellas.


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[Jon Boy]

Wyoming hotshots. Worked with you guys several times many moons ago. Strong and experienced crew back then. It’s been interesting watching all these new crews pop up. There were just over 60 crews around in my last days. Last count I had there were over a hundred currently. Some of the superintendents I see runnin these crews were ground pounders or squad bosses in my day. I know they are runnin strong crews with high levels of experience. Curious about some of the others though. No disrespect intended.

Workin the skidline is no joke. Kudos to your son for gettin in with the boys. That says a lot about his character. Strong work dad. Anyone else here involved in the Wildland community?

Farmer, I’m interested to hear how tactics and strategy have changed. You mentioned quite a bit of change. FYI, my hats off to you guys still at it. Not many people understand just what we do. Hope this thread keeps goin. Maybe we need to start dropping pics?!

Would love to see some old school shot crew pics if you have them.

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[PNWTO]

Well not the same at all but PFT non-fire here. FFT2 and REAF.

 

[Sled]

Sled, not all deucers are slouches. The SQF had a 21 man fuels crew back then. Dubbed Type 2. We worked a lot with them on local IA’s. Those boys had their shit together. The big disadvantage they had was the lack of off forest assignments. We new fire across the west and how to engage accordingly based off our exposure. I can’t recal many times we were on a division and felt out of place. I.e. not knowing local factors such as minor and major weather patterns / behavior. New fuel types and / or terrain. That’s what makes a Type 1 so unique. We can fight fire anywhere in the west and basically know what to expect. Did we rely on local resources for intel? Absolutely. But, when you engage fire in virtually every region year after year. You learn. I don’t know a type 2 crew that carries that exposure or diversity. Ever fought fire in the tundra of Alaska? The brush of SoCal? Washington timber late season? The chinook, Santa Ana or sundowner winds? It’s not just a long winded red card or who can do the most pushups. It’s can I pull your crew at any moment, drop you off 1,000 miles away and count on you to perform at 100% with little to no resources? Just sayin.

i don't recall our crew ever being deployed over seas but from florida to alaska we did have assignments. our bread and butter was the west. utah, idaho, california, arizona, new mexico, nevada and occasionally wyoming. had one there in october one year. don't care to ever go back to california. it helps to have a good reputation when you get to a fire. always fun to be burning out and have shots holding line.

 

[Justin_Tree]

I spent 3 season on a IHC and 5 total in wild land. The summers with the hotshots were some of the best times of my life. The sound of multiple saws running still gets me going. The only down side was fire season impacted my hunting season, But in many ways it made me a better hunter.

 

[muddydogs]

i don't recall our crew ever being deployed over seas but from florida to alaska we did have assignments. our bread and butter was the west. utah, idaho, california, arizona, new mexico, nevada and occasionally wyoming. had one there in october one year. don't care to ever go back to california. it helps to have a good reputation when you get to a fire. always fun to be burning out and have shots holding line.

Your post gave me a chuckle.

I was fighting wild land fires back before all the coolness of the hotshot crews mostly on a pickup crew made up of guys off the Kootenai NF. This was back before all the rules and safety concerns when we would pound line for days at a time catching a nap in the dirt of the fire line then going back to being Pulaski motors. Ran a saw for a while as a class C feller.

Our crew wasn't liked a whole lot, see our crew bosses were a couple old jumpers with good reputations plus the Kootenai crew in general had a good reputation so when we showed up to the fire and the local incident commander figured out who we were or knew our bosses we were sent to pound hot line or catching chopper rides to the hot spots while the shot crews were pulling hoses and mopping up the rear. The shot crews didn't like that too much as they were supposed to be the elite fire guys.

I'm still working for the FS, a lot has changed in the last 30 years. Most of the change has been for the better with fires getting bigger and meaner. I don't miss fire very much, I did my time when I was younger and have no desire to hump a hose pack or saw around the mountains for hours on end anymore. Wow last year was 30 years since I started, cut my teeth in 1988 when Yellowstone NP went up in flames.