Fire camp life

'Bringing a city to the countryside'

Running the Skyland Fire camp is like running a small city.

More than 800 people have been calling a grassy field off U.S. 2 home while the wildfire rages near Marias Pass. And the logistics of maintaining a tent city of that size are staggering.

"With these large fire camps, you're bringing a city to the countryside," Operations Section Chief Mike Matarrese said.

A row of tents near the camp's entrance, dubbed "Main Street," houses the camp's information, logistics, operations, safety, planning and finance sections. These departments are responsible for everything from how the fire is fought to making sure everybody gets fed.

"It grows every day," said Kim Smolt, a fire information officer. "Everything you need to be self-contained is right here."

Specialists use satellites to access the Internet. The camp has a fully functioning network, which can be set up in an hour, to support mapping and operations planning. The camp was running off generators until a few days ago, when it got hooked up to commercial power.

"We don't need the outside world if it's not available," information technology specialist Doug Parker said.

Firefighters pack in some of their own computers, servers and cables, but a lot of it is rented, said Paul Dzialowy, another information technology specialist.

The fire's mapping unit, housed in an air-conditioned trailer, updates the fire's perimeter three times a day, depending on activity, said geographic information system specialist Andy Steel.

"When it's really moving we may do more," he said.

The fire was mapped Tuesday at more than 40,400 acres with at least a 69-mile perimeter. It is 59 percent contained.

The lightning-sparked fire has been burning since July 23.

There are 19 hand crews (with 20 members each) on the fire, with firefighters coming from as far away as Washington, Wyoming, West Virginia, Florida and Alaska. The U.S. Forest Service, Blackfeet Indian Tribe, Montana Department of Natural Resources, and a national incident command team are all involved in combating the fire.

It takes 16 buses to get all the firefighters to their assigned sectors each day.

"At this moment, every vehicle I have is out and people still want more," said Ground Support Unit leader Lance Packer, who also manages a fleet of 35 rented vehicles. Packer also is responsible for washing down vehicles that may have collected spotted knapweed seeds. Invasive species are still a Forest Service concern, even if it is fire season.

The fire effort includes 25 engines, 12 water tenders and one bulldozer.

A sea of tents, separated into individual crews, stretches across a browning field and into the woods.

And the occupants of those tents require feeding.

"It's 24 hours on the clock," said Mike Kramer, who manages the catering service, Jose's Fire Catering Service, contracted to feed the firefighters. "If we're not cooking, we're cleaning. And then we have to stop that to start cooking again."

The catering service alone has three chefs and a 25-person crew. One night for dinner, chefs cooked and served 600 pounds of turkey breast and 40 gallons of gravy. For breakfast, firefighters will usually go through 40 gallons of oatmeal, 70 gallons of coffee and 30 gallons of eggs. They use so many eggs it's not worth it to measure by the dozen, Kramer said.

"There's not a whole lot of sleep here in the fire camp for anybody," he said. "We sleep in the winter."

Still, firefighters aren't without most amenities of modern life. There is a laundry and two shower facilities. About 88 portable toilets are scattered throughout the fields.

Firefighters will use between 3,500 and 7,000 gallons of water a day for showers, said Les Gemar, whose company runs one of the shower units.

For firefighting crews, camp life can be dirty and exhausting.

Crews roll out for their portion of the fire after a briefing at about 7:30 a.m. They don't return until about 7 p.m.

"What crews really want to do when they get back is get a meal, take a shower and go to bed," Smolt said.

Eventually, it becomes a routine, said Alberto Davila, a crew boss on a team from Albany, Ore.

"You get used to it and it's not so bad," he said, adding that good food and showers make life a lot easier.

John Whiteman, a squad boss in a crew from Fort Peck, hasn't seen a fire-camp commissary like the one at Skyland in years, he said.

"It's been a lot worse, and it beats spiking out," he said.

That everyone in the camp is working toward the same goal lifts morale and establishes camaraderie, Smolt said.

"It's a really cool experience to meet people from all over," she said.

Firefighters keep a running total of how much the fire is costing to fight. The Skyland Fire has cost the government about $11 million so far.

Congress sets aside certain funds to fight fires each year, but if those funds run out the additional money comes from the Forest Service's operating budget, said Cost Unit leader Rita Dyer.

"It's not just free money from Congress," she said, adding that the cost is ultimately passed down to the taxpayer.

The fire camp also supports a five-helicopter helibase, complete with a mobile radio control unit, and a medical facility to treat injuries. The worst injury on the Skyland Fire has been a rolled ankle, paramedic Steve Otoupalik said.

The medical unit sees 280 to 300 patients a day, which is low, Medical Unit leader Jim Powell said. During the first week on a fire, medical personnel treat a lot of blisters. During the second week everyone is fine, and during the third week there are a lot of upper respiratory infections, Powell said.

"After a lot of hard work on the line, it just gets to them," Powell said.

As a wildfire winds down, the atmosphere around the fire camp becomes a bit more relaxed, Smolt said.

And when the fire is eventually extinguished, crews will leave nothing of the once sprawling camp behind.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com