I’m back home after 14 straight days of fire — most recently the Hull Fire up on the Tusayan Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest.
I don’t think I’ve touched on it before, but I’ve been stuck in the never-ending saga of the task book that will not get signed off. Long story short: In order to get fully qualified as a Type 3 Public Information Officer (PIO3) by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG), I have to complete a task book and have it signed off and certified by a committee.
(If you need a little bit of background on what exactly I do for work, here’s a little guide I wrote last year.)
I completed my task book last season on the Committee Fire, but due to some ill-timed overhauls to the PIO position, I had to open a new task book this season and essentially start from scratch.
One of the requirements in my new task book is an off-forest assignment. So, with only a slight air of desperation, I begged every forest in the state of Arizona to keep me in mind for an order if a fire broke out.
Luckily, Brie — the awesome public affairs officer (PAO) on the Kaibab — did just that.
She asked if I wanted to spend a week working on two lightning-caused wildfires up near the Grand Canyon, and I immediately nodded “yes” and packed my bags.
Quick note: This year has been so weird in terms of wildfire here in northern Arizona. Last year was catastrophic wildfire (Tunnel) after catastrophic wildfire (Pipeline), and this year is a lot of managing lightning-caused wildfires for forest health.
I elaborated a bit on why not all wildfires are “bad” in my recent post about the Volunteer and Wilbur fires, so you can check that out for some more information.
But, essentially, that’s what both the Hull Fire AND the Ridge Fire were — two lightning-caused wildfires that the Kaibab decided to manage to benefit the overall health of the forest.
I met with Brie last Saturday for a quick run-down of the fires, then drove on up to the fires to start work.
I won’t get too into the day-by-day, but this assignment was, overall, really cool.
I spent a lot of time not in an office. As much as I love sitting in an air conditioned room writing a good AP Style-compliant news release, I love being out in the field way, WAY more.
I spent SO much time out on the fire line taking photos and video content — including both B-roll and stand-up interviews — for the Kaibab to use.
Like… SO much time. Brie threw me out to take photos on Day One, and I think I only had one completely office-bound day on this fire.
My greens and yellows are filthy. I love it.
I spent the rest of my time driving around to collect content…
…and update info boards.
Yes, updating info boards. When there’s no WiFi across most of the forest, information has to be communicated manually. We prop up large wooden a-frame boards and tack maps and paper news releases to public displays in order to get fire info out there to forest visitors.
It’s a lot of driving and a lot of stapling.
This assignment was so cool for so many reasons.
Obviously, getting out in the field so much was absolutely incredible.
I got to explore a new forest and a new town (and get paid to do both) which is always cool.
Then — because the Hull Fire was right on the boundary of the Kaibab National Forest/ Grand Canyon National Park — I got to commute through Grand Canyon National Park every morning for the Hull Fire briefing.
I was also able to sneak a few quick hikes/ journaling sessions in before and after work.
I hiked a little bit of South Kaibab Trail, hiked out to Shoshone Point and spent a lot of time just sitting at the South Rim marveling out at one of my forever favorite sights.
I also got to meet and work with a ton of new people.
And, I got to work with some friendly faces… like Matt, one of the other PIOs assigned to the fire.
I met Matt during my S-203 class at wildfire academy last year, and he’s great to work with.
Anyway, just a few cool words and photos from this past week’s fire assignment.
Will my task book finally get sent to the committee and approved? Fingers crossed.
My views are mine alone and don’t represent those of my employer, agency or the United States government. All photos were taken by me and/or credited photographer unless otherwise noted. You can read more on my disclosure and privacy policy page.
