Feeding the Firefighters

Wed, 8-31-11, 8AM, Ranch House. The business of the ranch day was just getting started. Eric came through, and his ranch radio crackled, "We need food, water and coffee". It was Ray. He and Wrangler Chuck and the Palmer Canyon pump truck stationed at the ranch had been on the Poe Mountain fire all night with several volunteers from the Palmer Canyon Volunteer Fire Department. We could tell by the tone in Ray's voice, it was a tight situation they were in up there, and they needed food supplies.

Eric and I sprang into action, and with the help of the Bradney's and their guest Mar. We began putting together burritos with anything we could find in the ranch fridge, and from scavenging the food stocks in my fridge. We also put together about 4 loaves of PbJ's, several gallons of coffee, coolers of ice water etc. The 5 of us jumped in the red ranch truck, and with Eric as our group leader we were off trying to find the Palmer canyon unit. Thank goodness Eric knows the lay of the local land so well. I doubt any of us could have found them without him.

We went up through Tower Canyon, then to the South, then swung back to the east where we found them, in two different locations. We fed both groups, and watched in amazement the activities of controlling a wildfire. Men, women, helicopters, tanker planes, heavy equipment and shovels, a scene words cannot describe.

We left with instructions from Ray to go get as much drinking water as we could manage and bring it up to the fire. We spent the rest the day, and well into the night, trying to access the burn area in search of the Palmer Canyon unit. We were turned back by the fire everywhere we tried to enter. Also during that time, we were accompanied by Ray's sons Luke and Les who were trying to join up with the unit to work the fire all night to give a break to some of those who had by now been on the fire over 24 hours. Finally, long after sundown, we found a safe access to the fire and located the Palmer Canyon unit, working steady and hard at controlling the fire. These guys are awesome. They finished the last of the food left over from our morning run, guzzled the cold water, and jumped right back into the work at hand. After being on the fire so long; tired, hungry, and thirsty, as they made their brief stop at our truck for food and water, they were all good natured, smiling and seemingly ready to go back in for more. We have good reason to be proud of the Palmer Canyon VFD Unit.

-- Thom Yaras