Around-the-clock work at Montana's wildfire camps

A 2,000-acre wildfire continues to spread across Gibralter Ridge just 7 miles east of Eureka, consuming timber, brush and anything else in its path. Less than 20 miles away, however, the best chance of controlling what one resident described as a “raging inferno” has set up camp and will remain there until the danger has passed.

A Type 2 Incident Team comprised of nearly 450 firefighters and several hundred more support staff are working around the clock to monitor, plan and fight the wildfire in a boots-on-the-ground operation.

Rising before daylight, firefighters emerge from their tents each day after what amounts to a total of about four or five hours of sleep. The men and women line up to receive their breakfasts and then gather in the dark in a large tent with several rows of long tables and folding chairs.

A menu board posted outside a catering trucks advertises the options for the day. According to Hailey Graf, the Gibralter Ridge Fire public information officer, a steaming cup of Joe is always on the menu, and the firefighters and support teams alike regularly flock to the coffee station that remains open all day and through the night.

The firefighters have a maximum of 30 minutes from the time they wake to eat, dress and gear up before splitting into their separate divisions for 6 a.m. briefings.

Each division is assigned to a different location on the fire, and depending on the fire’s behavior in that area, each of the division supervisors will brief their team on the hazards, weather and equipment needed for that day.

Immediately following the briefings, the crews load up into various vehicles and get to the fire scene as early as possible to begin another 16-hour workday.

Catering crews back at the camp send each division off with their lunches packed according to a strict nutritional diet. Each firefighter is guaranteed 6,000 calories a day, between breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. All food is prepared and cooked at the camp by teams who specialize in calculating the amount of sugar, fats, protein, fiber and other nutritional needs must go into each meal.

Graf said that, among the many other factors that support staff closely monitor, nutrition remains one of the most important.

“You can’t work for 16 hours a day for 14 days in a row eating nothing but Wonder bread and Pop Tarts,” she said.

DEPENDING ON the severity of the fire on any given day, fire crews may return to camp any time between 9 p.m. and midnight. Sometimes, as is the current case on the Gibralter Fire, a night crew will take over.

The nature of the job requires thick skin, literally, according to the camp’s medical team leader, Jim Ross.

Early in the fire season each year, many fighters suffer from the job’s number one ailment — blisters.

According Ross, blisters can occur even in the best-fitting boots when a firefighter becomes fatigued and begins to stand and walk with a different, tired stance.

They can also result as teams check for “cold trails.” This requires individuals to feel for sources of heat once a fire has been put out with a bare hand before they can consider a spot contained and move on to another location.

As the season progresses, Ross said he has to be prepared to handle what he calls “camp crud.” Fatigue, lack of sleep and low-quality air conditions can impact the immune system, creating the precursors for bronchitis, pneumonia and other serious illnesses.

Despite the nature of their job, Ross said very few firefighters come to him with serious burns, and he said he has been fortunate enough to have never had to deal with much more than the occasional blister burns.

Though the life of a firefighter by nature comes with a certain risk, both Graf and Ross stressed the importance of dealing with the more common ailments and injuries in their early stages.

Graf pointed out that, should one firefighter get sick with something like strep throat, the infection could quickly spread throughout the camp.

“If something goes wrong, then it goes wrong in a big way,” Graf said.

The personnel on the Type 2 Incident Team currently handling the Gibralter Ridge Fire have the training and experience necessary to deal with most of the day-to-day obstacles like smoke inhalation, muscle aches and fatigue, according to Ross.

Most of the time, Graf said, the moment the teams get back to camp, they wash their hands — a constant requirement for everyone at the camp — get their food and sit down to eat.

Only once they are chowing down do the firefighters pull out their cellphones to check social media, call home or compare photos.

Some opt for a shower after dinner, but when faced with the choice between five and six hours of sleep, Graf said sleep often wins out over the optional shower.

“It’s really, really hard work,” Graf said. “They’re tired when they come in ... often it’s pretty much straight to bed.”

The teams work on average 16-hour days, seven days a week for two weeks straight. They then get two days off before returning to work.

If a fire the crew has been working on is out when they still have two days left on their shift, they may be shipped off to another fire for the remaining two days. If a fire is not out after two weeks of work, the fighters get two days off while another team steps in to continue their work.

Despite the high demand associated with the wildfire firefighters’ lifestyle, Graf said many of them “just love fighting fires.”

“They’re in it to make money and have fun,” she said.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.