We were on our way home from Donnelly, Id. this afternoon. Highway flashing sign said, "Wild fire ahead 29 miles." Mike said, "I know where that's at. It DB's ranch. I drop you off at the house Mom, grab my gear and get a fire truck. That was at 2:30...It's now going on 8PM. Winds have died down up at this end of the canyon which is a good sign. I'll leave a light on for him. Say a pray for all of them. Mopar Mom

Will do. I hope they all stay safe, and hopefully they can get some air support!

...ahhh, widfire season. The joy of may things.Our little boy is all growed up!

I return... I'm safe and sound.As for the fire you'll never believe the cause of the fire. It was cause from a local that was double towing his RV and boat down to Brownlee Res. Barely left town and jumped the boat trailer off the ball and drug the boat trailer down the highway for over 5 miles throwing sparks all over. Nevertheless we chased fire over both sides of the highway protecting homes and and property the best we can. No homes where harmed, lots of grass and brush burned though. We had USFS and Salmon River Rural Fire working the fire and spaced out over the 5 miles of highway working both sides. Today was one of those days I wished I would of taken my radio with me even though I left my fire district. If I would of had my radio I would of been more informed about what was going on. But I got home called Idaho County dispatch and found out some basic information and then grab my gear and radio and hauled for the fire in Mom's 1996 Dodge. Thankfully her truck had fuel where mine was near empty. Being I'm a station captain of Station #1 I've got new guy that I got caught up with and was teaching him the ropes of the truck in the field. So we fought fire, moped up, went to town and loaded with fuel, then loaded with nice clean city water for the truck. I sent him home with Engine 1 to clean the truck and put it back in the station. I stayed behind to monitor the fire up to 7:30pm and then managed to still hit my fire meeting in Riggins, ID learning about filling SCBA tanks and maintenance of them. I'm tired...

Is it always so dry this time of year for you? One would think with the recent melting of snow (if you get enough) would keep things damp for at least a month or two. Just talked to mom (in Wyoming) and theyve still got snow on the ground up at the cabin.

Snow? What snow? Most of our snow is all gone. We only got snow above 6,000 feet now. We're all wondering if we are going to get a typical high water or not. I'm already to cut firewood.

Man, last time we encountered a new guy with a neighboring dept. we had a sctructure fire and he burned up the pump in the engine! You guys still have steel cylinders? The composite ones are real nice. They even have smaller bottles now. I think its even got a higher pressure rating. Rated at 30 minutes, IIRC...

Yup... We still got steel cylinders for SCBA's.

Yup... We still got steel cylinders for SCBA's.

I'm happy to never have been priveliged to wear one of those lead caskets!

I'm happy to never have been priveliged to wear one of those lead caskets!

I've tried on many different types of SCBA's but I'll most likely never wear a SCBA on a fire because without my glasses I'm nearly blind and worthless. My optimal spot is working the pump panel and keeping water supplied to the fire fighter at the far end. The only reason I took the SCBA training is just for the off chance there is a HazMat issue or chemical based fire I can still work the pump panel but knowing my personal safety is still covered. At close distance I can still make out the panel. Give you any idea... Without my glasses on my monitor I have to be within 12" of the screen to even read this post. Yeah... I'm blind as a bat...

They make lense inserts for the repirators, alot of guys at work have them. Once a year we have to fully don a level A acid suit complete with a 60 minute scba and complete a timed scenario. Could be anything from installing a c kit on a rail car to installing a band aid on a ruptured pipe or whatever they dream up for us. Its always done in the middle of a fog screen to cut down visibility to simulate a real life scenario. If we dont pass in the alloted time were not cleared to go back to work.