The Hotshot Wake Up

On Today’s Show: To Subscribe: 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ Today, I welcome Zeyn O’Leary, a 35-year veteran fire lookout who has staffed towers since 1991. Zeyn started in the Iron Mountain Lookout on the Willamette National Forest, staffed the Rose Peak Lookout in the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest, and currently staffs the Mt. Pisgah Lookout in the Ochoco National Forest in Cent...

On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ With less than 48 hours to pass the Continuing Resolution that locks in base wage increases for wildland firefighters, I welcome Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana to discuss where we are. The House passed the Bill this week, and the Senate is expected to vote on it imminently. Will it pass the Senate? If not, we will see a governm...

On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ I welcome Justin DeMoss, current Golden Eagles Hotshot and of Hotshot Wellness. Justin is a dedicated humanitarian with a passion for improving physical, mental, and spiritual health. His mission is to help individuals achieve a better quality of life through holistic wellness. He earned a Master’s in Exercise Science from Lon...

On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ The last time JJ was on the show, we discussed his study on fire lunches and their effects on the wildland firefighters’ bodies. Since then, he has been working with Hotshot Crews and other fire resources to set them up with the optimal plan to maintain nutrition and health pre, post, and during the fire season. After high sch...

On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ Today, I welcome back Dr. Ludie Bond to discuss the already active Florida Fire season. Conditions across Florida are abnormally dry, and forests are starting to see fire activity they would typically see in March. The recent hurricanes also have impacted fuels, with large swaths of blowdown across Florida counties. We cover t...

On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ Nearly 7,000 probationary employees were terminated in the last 48 hours across the land management agencies and park service. This included researchers at the Missoula Fire Lab, trails crews, biologists, and others. The agencies have yet to communicate on the terminations that have occurred and any actions planned in the futu...

On today’s show: To Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ I have a conversation with Eddie Goldberg, Vice Chairman Of Perimeter Solutions. Perimeter Solutions holds the sole contract with the Forest Service for retardants and has operations around the globe. We discuss the testing that retardants undergo, their composition, the safety studies that have been conducted, and the company...

On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ I cover the proposal for the new National Wildfire Fire Service. This has been discussed for decades, and an effort to finally streamline the wildfire bureaucracy now has bipartisan support. It would consolidate all fire agencies under one umbrella. The USDA sent out a policy email stating that wildland firefighters are not ex...

On today’s show: To Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ Today, I cover all the wild reforms inside the wildfire agencies over the last week, how they happened, and why. It’s been a whirlwind of policy changes, website deletions, and top-level control of all IT and servers across the Departments. I even got a sneak peek at the current number of resignations sent in since mass resign...

On today’s show: To Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ I cover the President’s visit to the California wildfires, then dive into the Fix Our Forests Act, which passed the House this week and will likely pass the Senate. Inside this Act is a provision to determine if the Forest Service should be moved to a Western state out of Washington D.C.; they have a 1-year timeline to decide....

On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ I speak with John Gould, one of the most respected voices in the wildfire industry. John’s career spans the wildfire world, including being a longtime Alaska Smokejumper, chair of the Federal Fire and Aviation Safety Team, head of Air Operations for the Bureau of Land Management, manager of the Alaska Fire Service, and CEO of...

On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ I spoke with Orange County Fire Chief Brian Fennessy about the recent fires in California and the changes needed in the aftermath. Chief Fennessy is the Chair of the  Firescope Advisory Committee,  which will meet next week to make recommendations to improve the current system and have a panel discussion on the 2025 California...

On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ With the tragedy of the Palisades and Eaton Fires in California over the last week, I sat down with Senator Tim Sheehy to discuss what needs to be done to ensure that this tragedy never happens again and make certain our wildland firefighters are supported. The Senator and I have discussed these issues for years, and due to th...

On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ The ATF has taken over as the lead investigator into the Palisades Fire and has been looking at the fire's origin. The best origin photo I’ve seen shows the fire starting off the Temescal Ridge Trail within the first 20 minutes of ignition. Investigators are also looking at the potential of a holdover from the Lackman Fire, wh...

On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ In the last 24 hours, the LAFD Chief has commented that Los Angeles city officials have let the Department and city residents down. When further pressed, the chief confirmed that one major reservoir was empty due to construction and that her department was not notified before or during the initial attack of the California fire...

On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ A lot of progress has been made across the California Fires, Palisades, Hurst, Eaton, and Kenneth. The hard work and labor must now be done by the crews to contain these fires. Local Residents tackled and made a citizen arrest near the Kenneth Fire of an individual who was starting fires with a blowtorch. Fire Managers say a c...

On Today’s Show: To Subscribe: 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ I give an update on the current situation with the southern California fires, the unbelievable level of destruction, and the lives lost. I also discuss the wild theories that have been incorporated into news reporting. I address the hydrants running out of water, lack of resources, tactics being used, arson, power infrastruct...

On Today’s Show: Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ This morning, I give an update on the fires that started and burned through the night in Southern California. Multiple new starts have evacuated nearly 100,000 people, likely destroying hundreds of homes and businesses and tapping wildfire resources in the State. People are understandably looking to place blame for these fires, b...

On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ After three years of attempts, the final Bill of this Congress strips the wildland firefighter permanent pay fix language. The Supplemental Pay is to continue until March 14th. A reset button has been hit, and many former players won’t be there the next time this is voted on. Massive changes are coming to the wildfire industry...

On Today’s Show: To Subscribe: 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ Today, I welcome Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell, who heads the U.S. Fire Administration. Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell was appointed by President Joseph Biden as the U.S. fire administrator on Oct. 25, 2021. Prior to her appointment, Lori served nearly 3 years as the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the International Public Sa...

On Today’s Show: Subscribe to support👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ Today, I welcome Scott Gorman, who ran the Dalton Hotshots before making the jump to Orange County to run Santiago Crew 1. Scott started his career in 1995 and was motivated to challenge himself and pursue a wildfire career after finding a mentor in an El Cariso Hotshot who ran his Americorp crew. Through the apprentice...

On Today’s Show: Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ The President of the Forest Service Council, Andy Vanderheuel, and the Western Region National Business Representative for NFFE, Matt Brossard, join me in discussing the upcoming vote for the permanent wildfire pay legislation. We discuss the upcoming vote, what’s in the Bill, and what wildland firefighters can expect regarding a...

On Today’s Show: Subscribe to support the show: 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ Today, I welcome  Dr. Luke Montrose , assistant professor of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences at Colorado State University. His work focuses on the health effects of wildfire smoke, and he studies how human behaviors and environment affect the way our bodies read DNA. We discuss his ongoing stud...

On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ I am honored to welcome Chief Brian Fennessy, who has a long and distinguished wildfire career that has led him to become President of the California Fire Chiefs Association  (CalChiefs)  and Chief of the Orange County Fire Authority. We had a very candid conversation about the ongoing issues with the Forest Service’s aviation...

On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ The Wall Street Journal published an article claiming that Bridger Aerospace is being attacked by predatory short sellers and political opponents. I cover that story and reached out to the parties involved, Montana Senator Jon Tester and Bridger Aerospace Founder and Senate candidate Tim Sheehy, to get their comments on the mat...