It's the summer of 1977, the Lost Fire continues to create havoc for the
Fremont National Forrest. As the fire works it's way across the mountains, the
winds begin to send it to one of areas popular campgrounds which sits upon a
lake. What campground, I can't remember. I even attempted a web search without
success. Anyway, the rest of story here on Shift
49.
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| A glimpse of what it was like... |
During morning briefing, in which crews are given their assignments,
we are told that there is a campground in jeopardy that they want to protect.
No problem thus far. The situation is that the road leading to the campground
is not passable due to the fire. They tell us that the only way to reach the
campground in time is through the air. They sent out a helicopter, in similar appearance
to the CH53, to take a crew of 8 to 10 of us with equipment to create a
fire-line and protect this campground. As with ‘Shift 50’s’ recollection of the
Lookout recovery, the details from my memory are not great. What I know and do
remember…at age 19 I was flying in a helicopter with a crew of other
firefighters into an area with much fire and full of smoke. With this crew, we
were able to work to protect this campground.
How totally cool is that?
This song is from the movie "Only The Brave", which is based on the tragic true story of the
Yarnell Hill Fire that occurred in June 2013. 19 out of 20 Granite
Mountain Hotshots firefighters lost their lives whilst on duty.
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