WYOMING – As things heat up quickly in the valley and throughout the state (it seems we always go straight from pac boots to flip-flops, doesn’t it?) the immediate concerns are flooding. But a group of dedicated “warriors” is just finishing up training for their season of scorch. Drilling that will leave legions of wildland firefighters battle-tested and certified, ready with clean yellow shirts to tackle another long summer season.
And this summer is shaping up as another doozy of a fire season, according to early estimates from fuel specialists who say heavy snow winters and wet springs nurture more grass growth that could dry out in late summer months. The soggy conditions also hamper efforts to do much controlled burning in the early spring.
The Wyoming Interagency Hotshots is the state’s only interagency firefighting group. They are nearing the end of their Critical 80 training session that began May 1. Like many other hotshot agencies, WIH crews are required to undergo 80 hours of initial or refresher training annually. It’s arduous, back-busting work that’s done while area forests are still awakening from their winter slumber. But it won’t be long before Arizona, New Mexico, and southern California begin torching, and these men and women will be deployed around the West, hard at it for months, before many will return to protect their home state from raging wildfires.
By the way, the Wyoming Interagency Hotshots are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. A group of more than 170 current firefighters and alumni gathered in Greybull last weekend where the agency got its start as the Big Horn Interregional Fire Crew in 1967. In 50 years, WIH crews have deployed to 20 different states, and as far away as Australia to fight fires.
Buckrail salutes you all—from the unsung hero grunts on the line, to the nerves-of-steel aerial attack crews, to the daring smoke jumpers who parachute into remote fires with little support. What courage. What dedication.
Here’s hoping things are all quiet on the western front this summer. Stay safe.
