Well, here’s a unique version of the typical “what’s in my bag” posts that were popular circa 2014.
I’ve shared quite a bit of info about my day job, and even more info about the wildfires I work on as part of that job.
One of the tools I really rely on to do my job is what I call my PIO kit.
After about three years of living in Flagstaff, I’m finally comfortable writing out a post detailing some of my favorite places in town.
Back when I lived in Chicago, exploring the city was a never-ending task. I spent YEARS exploring neighborhoods and never felt comfortable giving a “guide to Chicago” or anything of the sort. The closest I got was a neighborhood guide, and even that felt like a reach.
But, given that Flagstaff is a biiiiit smaller, after years, plural, I feel very comfortable letting you know some of my favorite places around here, if you’re looking for things to do in Flagstaff.
Here we are, just a few weeks after the May edition of S#!T I’ve been loving lately, and I’m back with a few more fun discoveries that I’ve been really into lately.
This post? VERY fire-heavy. I’ve spent the majority of the past six or so weeks hopping from wildfire to wildfire to wildfire, so I’ve spent a lot of time loving things like industrial staplers and backpacking meals (made with hotel coffee pot hot water).
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.
Well, things have certainly been busy lately.
I blame fire season, obviously.
Did you know that our forests here in Arizona actually need fire?
I just wrapped up two back-to-back (well, almost — there was a weekend-long break in between) assignments on the Volunteer Fire and the Wilbur Fire, two lightning-caused wildfires located on the Flagstaff Ranger District and Mogollon Rim Ranger District, respectively, of my forest.
After 19 (NINETEEN!) straight days of work, I finally had a short break this past weekend JUST in time for a girls (plus Andrew) weekend camping down Woody Mountain Road (Forest Road 231)!
Well. After back-to-back aircraft-related posts about my first fixed-wing single-engine flight with Ryan, who just recently got his private pilot license, and my helicopter ride over a Sedona-area wildfire for work, this post is incredibly lame in comparison.
However, May was a GREAT month for reading! Before the Miller Fire broke out. I was able to finish six books. Ryan was gone the whole first part of the month on a fire assignment, so I had a lot of time to cuddle up with Yukon and my Kindle during his absence.
WHEEWWW I am TIRED.
I mentioned it in my last post about Ryan obtaining his pilot license, but while we were flying around northern Arizona, we saw smoke from the Miller Fire, which I’d been doing a little bit of public information work on early last week.
(Before we get too far, if you’re new here, here’s a little bit of an explainer about my job as a Public Information Officer (PIO) on wildfires, and how incident management as a whole works!)
My forest decided to pull in a Type 3 Incident Management Team to suppress the Miller Fire, and since the team they ordered — the Northern Arizona Type 3 IMT — doesn’t have a rostered PIO…
…that meant I got to work as the PIO.
Sweet!
So, some exciting news:
Ryan got his private pilot license!
Yay! Ryan has been working so hard on this for years. He plans to transition out of boots-on-the-ground firefighting — he’s working on an engine crew now, and spent his last six seasons working on Hotshot and rappel crews — and into single-engine aerial suppression. So, this is a big first step for him!
It’s also been really, really challenging for him. The best time to fly a fixed-wing single-engine plane around northern Arizona is the spring and summer… which also happens to be when ALL the wildfires break out.
Ryan spent last fire season out fighting fires for 14 days straight — 16 hour days — and then spent his three days between fire assignments flight planning, logging hours and studying for his check ride. He’s put so many hours into this. He finally completed all his requirements last month, and now, he’s fully licensed!
So, congrats to Ryan on obtaining his private pilot license!
…And congrats to me obtaining a private pilot!
