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Friday, July 31, 2015
Vol. 8 • Issue 9
Georama celebrates 45 years of flowers See Page 16
280 Baker Street Nelson BC (250)
354-4089
valhallapathrealty@telus.net www.valhallapathrealty.com
Nelson filmmaker searches for freedom See Page 11
Portrait of a wildland fire crew Firefighting is a dirty, dangerous job but it’s all in a day’s work, according to one local team
TAMARA HYND Nelson Star typical day for a forest firefighter includes early starts, constant boot and foot care and hydration. That’s according to one initial attack crew who spoke with the Star before embarking on three well-earned days off after working 14 straight. Firefighters Greg Seidelin, Ali MacKellar, Doug Wiggill, and crew leader Billy Stevens have 25 years of experience between them. The work is challenging. They’ve been on one to two new fires every day and only when prodded do they concede they can feel it in their legs, which are tired from working on steep mountain slopes. “Basically we’re mountain goats out there,” said Wiggill. The four-person initial attack crew based out of the Selkirk office had returned to their base at Four Mile in their truck loaded with heaps of dirty hose that needed rerolling, chainsaws that needed sharpening and cleaning, still wells that required refolding and overnight gear that needed to be replenished. They had just extinguished and demobilized spot fires above Ainsworth Hot Springs, Kokanee Creek, and Coffee Creek. Born and raised in Nelson, Stevens said their days start at 6 a.m. when they’re on standby (if they’re not on a fire already) and they remain on-call until 10 p.m. so they have a clear eight-hour break before starting all over the next day. The crew is set up to be self-
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Firefighters Greg Seidelin, Ali MacKellar, Doug Wiggill, and crew leader Billy Stevens have 25 years of experience between them. They are one of three four-person initial attack crews that work out of the Selkirk forestry office at Four Mile. Tamara Hynd photo sustainable for two nights on a fire if need be. Distance, fire behaviour, and the expense of helicopter transportation are all factors when deciding to overnight on a fire. “There are no hotel shows, no campgrounds,” said Stevens, who has been fighting wildfires for 12 seasons, eight of them on the Columbia unit crew out of Revelstoke. Crews stay in one-person tents or hammocks, although steep slopes often make it difficult to find a flat spot. Fire food is anything quick that can be cooked with a Jet Boil stove, like chili and beans in a can. Lunch is often energy
bars with nuts or trail mix. “There’s no time for anything more,” said Stevens. Breakfast is usually oatmeal and coffee. And when they aren’t staying overnight, they go home to fend for themselves. Four firefighters were spotted grocery shopping right after the interview, clearly just off the fire line, covered in layers of soot and ash. MacKellar said she and her roommate Naomi Fuglem, who is also on an initial attack crew, stocked their freezer at the beginning of the season with pasta, veggies, pepperoni, buns and ice cream, something MacKellar likes to have after
a fire. And they will need to fill it again in preparation for August as the July supply is almost gone. What does the crew like about the job? “It’s exciting and hard,” said MacKellar, adding it’s perfect for people who like a challenge. Every day is different. “You never know what you’re going to get,” said Seidelin. Seidelin and his colleagues like that the work is tangible and they can see the results of their labour. “When the fire goes from raging and burning to cold and out,” said Seidelin. “We did that,” MacKellar
adds. They understand the value of their work more than ever this season as they see the potential when fires blow up, such as the 777-hectare Sitkum Creek fire. “It’s close to home,” said Wiggill, who was raised locally and was among the residents on evacuation alert for nine days before crews controlled the expanding fire above Six Mile. Initial attack crews are 92 to 95 percent successful at extinguishing spot fires. During the interview the crew doesn’t mention other common parts of their jobs: the digging, hauling hose, breathing in smoke, or building heli-pads. For Stevens the biggest challenge this summer was during a deployment to the Yukon. The near 24-hour daylight made it difficult to fall asleep in a tent. Each crew member brings a useful skill like carpentry, navigation, mechanics, inventory or paperwork. According to the bunch, “Doug can fix anything.” Seidelin’s carpentry skills are apparent in the massive work bench that stands in the warehouse at their base, built from repurposed bridge ties at no expense to taxpayers. In their off time, which has been minimal thus far, the crew works on recreation and field management projects and fuel modification at Sitkum. After a pilot project last year, the Southeast Fire Centre Continued on page 18
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