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We Made it Out, But it Was Very, Very Close - Reflections From The Nuttall Fire.

Everyone was moving in slow motion. On our inter-crew channel I could hear our Lookout giving us updates calmly but forcefully: It was time to be gone.By Matt Holmstrom Current – Superintendent Lewis & Clark IHC Nuttall Fire – Squad Leader Lassen IHC 

When You're the Division Supervisor and Fire Shelters Come Out

“I try to cultivate relationships and build trust so I can create an environment where people feel safe telling me that my idea is a bad one.” By Jayson Coil Division Supervisor on the Nuttall Fire When I reflect on the events surrounding the entrapment and subsequent shelter deployment on the Nuttall Fire there is one main lesson that continues to resonate with me. Along with this lesson comes the acknowledgement of the cost of this lesson. 

In Honor of the Granite Mountain Hotshots

By Brit Rosso - Director of the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center. June 30th 2017 – The fourth anniversary of the Yarnell Hill fire, where we lost 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots. A few weeks back I was asked if I could write something about Yarnell Hill to post on the fourth anniversary. I’ve been struggling ever since to come up with the right words to honor our fallen. After some deep thought about this opportunity, I’ve decided to share a letter with you that was sent to me a few weeks after Yarnell Hill.

Close Call Stories - Trusting Intuition

This post uses a video from: THE SMOKEY GENERATION: A WILDLAND FIRE ORAL HISTORY AND DIGITAL STORYTELLING PROJECT The Smokey Generation is a website dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing the stories and oral history of wildland fire. By Travis Dotson "I still kick myself for this..." Ever felt that way? We all have. That is called hindsight.

Thoughts on fire, PTSD, and stress - Reblog from chasing fire.

There have been a few articles and news clips I’ve read on Facebook recently that provoked discussion, and motivated me to write a not-so-short opinion piece with my thoughts on the matter. Click here to read full article:  Thoughts on fire, PTSD, and stress — chasing fire [gallery ids="https://wildfirelessons.wpcomstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/stress-icon.jpg|Thought icon,https://wildfirelessons.wpcomstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/screen-shot-2017-05-31-at-8-

Burn Injuries - Wrong Hurts

By Alex Viktora Wildland Firefighters receive burn injuries every season. Often times some sort of flammable liquid ignites resulting in a burn, like the rather common drip torch leg burn scenario mentioned in this NWCG memo.

Socks Matter

By Alex Viktora I used to work for the National Park Service. One of the sweetest things about working for the NPS was the official socks. That’s right. Socks. As a member of a wildland fire crew, I rarely had much need to be in official NPS uniform, so my annual uniform allowance was spent on socks. Brown wool socks. If you wear them with shorts, you look like…well…German? I bought so many of these things, I still have a cache of unopened wool socks in my closet. As most firefighters can attest, keeping your feet in good shape is super important.

Lessons from the Knoxville Mobilization Center

How Thorough and Creative “What If” Thinking Led to Safety Successes By the 2016 Fire Safety and Learning Teams, U.S. Forest Service Southern Region  [Note: As part of the historic 2016 fall fire season in the Southeastern United States, the U.S.

How Do You Manage “Aggressive Kindness” on Incidents?

Although volunteers and individual acts of kindness provide wonderful support, if a mechanism is not in place to deliver this support, it can create a unique kind of challenge. By the 2016 Fire Safety and Learning Teams, U.S. Forest Service Southern Region [Note: As part of the historic 2016 fall fire season in the Southeastern United States, the U.S.