Thread: Inside the containment line of the Bootleg fire.
Fremont–Winema National Forest, Oregon.
Fremont–Winema National Forest, Oregon.
The fire is burning 400,482 acres (624 sq miles) of forest 
The bootleg fire at 624 sq mile is larger than the land mass of Portland, Seattle, Sacramento, and New York City combined.
Firefighters covered cabins in the forest with protective foil.
They resembled giant portions of leftover takeout.
They resembled giant portions of leftover takeout.
A look at the cabins Firefighters wrapped in protective foil
Ryan Berlin explains how firefighters wrap the cabins in foil to protect them.
I ask him if they charge home owners, he says “nah, their taxpayers”
I ask him if they charge home owners, he says “nah, their taxpayers”
Ryan Berlin explains a “spot fire” burning a tree
Ryan Berlin “no ones home”
Ryan Berlin explains a “spot fire” inside the containment line, how embers from a tree can ignite the ground
Ryan Berlin points out the containment line
Ryan Berlin takes us to the edge of the containment line and explains how it works
Ryan Berlin explains how some trees can spread fire more easily than others
Ryan Berlin shows us where we are standing in relation to the fire
Our position on the map and in relation to the fire
Firefighters from New Mexico march uphill
This 8 man crew carries hand tools and a chainsaw
They roam through the forest, scanning for single trees on fire, doing the human work that can’t be done by large machines.
They are head into the nations largest fire armed with a Pulaski
Their shift is 16 hours
Their shift is 16 hours
The work is unglamorous and labor intensive
A surreal sign of the life that once existed in a patch of Oregon forest now turned to ash, smoke and leaveless burnt trees: the murmurs of cattle
They deprive a fire any more fuel by cutting off the burning ends of the tree
The embers are snuffed out and the rest of the tree is free to lay to rest in the forest
The scale of the fire is humbling
“We’re holding this fire line,” says Nikolas Coronado, whose part of a crew of eight firefighters from New Mexico attacking the flames and embers with axes and chain saws.
“Feeling great,” Nikolas Coronado says, 7 hours into his 16 hour shift, “Pretty fresh still.”
George balltzer and his crew are moving the containment line with a water truck, putting out small fires before they spread.
Raven Parking is an engine boss from a private company out of Eugene.
He roots for the Beavers, not the ducks.
He roots for the Beavers, not the ducks.
“My third year fighting a fire in Oregon” says Orlando Eustace.
How does this year compare to other years?
“This year is more extreme, because of the drought and everything”
How does this year compare to other years?
“This year is more extreme, because of the drought and everything”
New Mexico fire crew comes to Oregon
Bootleg fire day 18
I am out of the forest.
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