Hotshots Ryan Almond (center) and Sam Unterbach (left) use drip torches to fight the #CaldorFire with fire.
They're with the El Dorado Hotshots, one of several crews who lit the unburned forest behind homes in Meyers on Tuesday after the fire jumped 89.
More photos👇
They're with the El Dorado Hotshots, one of several crews who lit the unburned forest behind homes in Meyers on Tuesday after the fire jumped 89.
More photos👇
It's not just the people with drip torches.
The whole hotshot crew gets involved with hand / power tools.
Sawyer Julain Mautz readies his chainsaw to help protect the homes near this #CaldorFire firing operation.
The whole hotshot crew gets involved with hand / power tools.
Sawyer Julain Mautz readies his chainsaw to help protect the homes near this #CaldorFire firing operation.
The wind came in sooner than anticipated in this part of Meyers near Apache Ave & Ottowa Dr on Tuesday.
The crew was already well underway with the firing operation.
They quickly decided they had to burn more forest faster before the wind lit it for them.
The crew was already well underway with the firing operation.
They quickly decided they had to burn more forest faster before the wind lit it for them.
In the driveway of a home on the forest's edge, hotshot Armando Perez called for help.
A fire engine came and saved the house, but it was a close call: the smoke alarms inside the house went off.
The burning was risky, but it protected the whole neighborhood.
#CaldorFire
A fire engine came and saved the house, but it was a close call: the smoke alarms inside the house went off.
The burning was risky, but it protected the whole neighborhood.
#CaldorFire
They burned the forest on their terms, rather than let the #CaldorFire sweep in.
A lot of people mistakenly think that you can just put out #wildfires by using enough hoses or aircraft.
Generally not.
It takes a bunch of tools to contain and then snuff out a running wildfire.
Including fire to burn away the fuel where the fire is headed...
Generally not.
It takes a bunch of tools to contain and then snuff out a running wildfire.
Including fire to burn away the fuel where the fire is headed...
...sweat and muscle.
Getting fuel out of the way!
(These are the Tahoe Hotshots, working Christmas Valley on Monday ahead of the #CaldorFire's arrival.)
Getting fuel out of the way!
(These are the Tahoe Hotshots, working Christmas Valley on Monday ahead of the #CaldorFire's arrival.)
A whole mess of hand tools and power tools.
More from the Tahoe Hotshots:
More from the Tahoe Hotshots:
And yes, fire hoses... to protect structures.
And to help protect the dirt line that the hand crews and dozers cut:
#CaldorFire
And to help protect the dirt line that the hand crews and dozers cut:
#CaldorFire
When they can fly... aircraft definitely help in the right circumstances.
They can take some heat out of the fire-- and slow the spread / strengthen lines with retardant.
#CaldorFire
They can take some heat out of the fire-- and slow the spread / strengthen lines with retardant.
#CaldorFire
They aren't always as visible as the air show on #wildfires...
They face down things that scare the buhjeezus out of most sane people.
They know how to stay safest.
They know their safety isn't always up to them.
They breathe the smoke. Sleep in the dirt.
Go days or weeks away from home, family, hot meals, and showers...
They know how to stay safest.
They know their safety isn't always up to them.
They breathe the smoke. Sleep in the dirt.
Go days or weeks away from home, family, hot meals, and showers...
...and I never hear them complain.
They keep coming back for more.
Many will tell you they do it for the thrill.
They do.
But they also do it because they care.
As the #CaldorFire and other #wildfires rage, never, ever, forget the ground crews:
They keep coming back for more.
Many will tell you they do it for the thrill.
They do.
But they also do it because they care.
As the #CaldorFire and other #wildfires rage, never, ever, forget the ground crews:
That last photo is dozer op Danny Parsons.
He didn't want to talk on camera, but graciously allowed me to take portraits.
More on him and what he worked on:
He didn't want to talk on camera, but graciously allowed me to take portraits.
More on him and what he worked on:
https://twitter.com/BrandonRittiman/status/1433874287593607169
Thanks for coming.
In addition to covering wildfires, I do investigative reporting about wildfires for @ABC10.
Check out our latest 3-part 🎞️ series and 3+ years of investigative work at FirePowerMoney.com
In addition to covering wildfires, I do investigative reporting about wildfires for @ABC10.
Check out our latest 3-part 🎞️ series and 3+ years of investigative work at FirePowerMoney.com
BONUS: Here's the video story @tylermhorst and I filed from the scene of Tuesday's #CaldorFire firing operation by the El Dorado Hotshots featured in the images above.
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