The Hotshot Wake Up

On Today’s Show: Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ CalFire engine rolls over en route to wildfire in Oroville. Multiple injuries, however, no fatalities after a horrific crash. Northern California goes PL3. Bitterness inside the Forest Service between fire and non-fire employees boils over. “Don’t reply all”… Yeeeeesh. Full operational update. Plus more THE HOTSHOT WAKE UP — Than...

On Today’s Show: Subscribe 👇https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ Firefighters were robbed while working at the Upper Applegate Fire in Oregon. Gear, saws, and everything else were stolen. Police are searching for suspects. This morning, a permanent wildfire pay fix was inserted into the DOI appropriations Bill, which also includes other very interesting requests. From Subcommittee Chair Rep. Mi...

On Today’s Show: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ Full update on the New Mexico fires. Official fire reports listed the fires as human-caused for 2 days. The Agency spokesperson says that was an automated computer error. CIMT spokesperson said they were told the fires were both human and lightning caused during their inbrief. The local mayor of Cloudcroft, New Mexico, is quoted as saying, “I...

On Today’s Show: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ I spoke with the folks from NFFE Wildfire about The Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act, where it is in the process, their trip to D.C. next week, and everything else they have been working on. Thanks to Max Alonzo, Andy Vanderheuel, and Steve Gutierrez for the great conversation about the issues wildland firefighters are still deali...

On Today's Show: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ Dr. Amber Ortega is an air quality meteorologist, wildland fire smoke specialist, and atmospheric chemist with nearly two decades of experience researching, forecasting, and managing smoke. She serves as the Regional Smoke Coordinator at both the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Northwest & Alaska Forest Service Regional Offices. Driven by...

On Today’s Show: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ Back in February, multiple wildfires were started in the Valparaiso region of Chile. These fires killed 137 people and were the second deadliest fires this century. 2 individuals’ homes have been raided, and were arrested after an investigation found a firefighter and a forest supervisor masterminded these fires. I called these fires out for...

On Today's Show: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ I have a wide-ranging conversation with the Executive Director of the United Aerial Firefighters Association, Paul Petersen.  The UAFA  represents the Aerial Wildland Fire Industry (Airtankers, Scoopers, Helicopters, Retardant, and aviation support) to Local, State, Federal agencies and Congress. Before his time at UAFA, Paul served as a...

On Today’s Show: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ I have a conversation with Dani Shedden, the woman behind Close The Gap Wellness. Dani is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Nationally Certified Counselor, and a wildland firefighter who started her counseling career with one goal in mind: to help people find balance and manage their mental health. It’s a great conversation that expands in...

On Today’s Show: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ Canada sees multiple holdover fires rekindle. Multiple communities evacuated as the fires jumped rivers and highways. An estimated 500k acres burned this week. The Southwest starts bringing in IMTs to fires. The Toyo Fire in Arizona prompts a CIMT order with multiple Hotshot crews. Region 3 starting to pick up in activity. Washington State an...

On today’s show: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ Outside Magazine pushes a year-round and nationwide campfire ban as a “symbolic” way to stop human-caused starts. Should we ban campfires nationwide? Don’t Forests already have restriction policies in place? Power lines, railroads, vehicles, and large debris burns cause more fires than camp fires. An April burn over and entrapment in North Ca...

On today’s show: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ Operational update. A longtime and beloved firefighter in Montana dies during a pack test. A shock to the Montana firefighting community. Canada calls in their National Security Investigation Team after pipeline explosion causes wildlife in Alberta. Past cyber attacks have shown vulnerability to these systems. After pulling the contract to en...

On Today’s Show: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ Two years after the Hermits Peak\Calf Canyon Fire, the FEMA director in charge of the $4 Billion in relief funds has resigned. The HPCC Fire, caused by 2 separate Forest Service prescribed burns, became the largest, most expensive, and most destructive fire in history. Lawyers for the communities say the Agency copied and pasted relief docume...

On Today’s Show: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ Subscribe now After a mayday call went out on the Oklahoma fire yesterday, we learned this morning that 2 firefighters were burned. The fire started as a “controlled burn” before 55MPH winds caused it to blow up. Colorado learns that Red Flag days now mean your power gets shut off. What’s the solution? Also, Fortress Retardant loses USFS cont...

On Today’s Show: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ Full Operational Update. Virginia and West Virginia order multiple Teams. Multiple Complexes established. Governor puts out an emergency response. Southern Area at PL3. Washington State scraps its Wildfire Risk Maps. Says their unreliable and need to be redone. However, defensible space requirements are thrown out because environmentalists sa...

On Today’s Show: To Subscribe: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ The Eldorado Fire was started by a gender reveal party in California. This week the couple involved was charged in the death of a Big Bear Hotshot squadie. Charlie Morton was working the Eldorado Fire when the fire overran his position. A look at the upcoming Spring fire season. Bureau of Land Management gets $50M to retrofit ex...

On today’s show: {to subscribe:} https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ Wildfires in Chile claim the lives of 64 people. Thousands are out of their homes, and hundreds are still missing. Four fires started “simultaneously,” according to the President of Chile and Governor of Valparaiso. “Possibly coordinated,” and an investigation is underway. I also cover the payments coming for residents of Laha...

On Today’s Show: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ The story of the Beachie Creek Fire in Oregon. Multiple lawsuits on how the fire was handled by the Forest and $1B demanded from the power company. MIST tactics V.S. full suppression. Safety V.S. engaging. What’s the cost in the end? PG&E come to a settlement on the Dixie Fire trial. Did PG&E just pay itself as a result? Where does th...

On today’s show: To Subscribe: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ The FBI and DOJ indict two wildfire contract companies for bid rigging wildfire contracts. Wiretaps led to evidence of collusion, territorial monopolies, and running the competition out of business. The shady world of wildfire contracts. I cover the story of three Hotshots running ultra marathons in the off-season. Mental toughn...

To Subscribe: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ On today’s show: Tim Sheehy, founder and CEO of Bridger Aerospace, joins me to discuss the current state of wildland fire, firefighter compensation, the bureaucratic struggles with policy and contracts, and his new book, Mudslingers. Tim takes us through his journey from a Navy Seal to building Bridger Aerospace out of a barn in a Montana valley...

On today’s show: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ We discuss the slowly reemerging policy of “put everything out” that has crept back into both the political realm and the tech side of the wildfire industry. A policy that clearly didn’t work. We talk about the importance of bringing operational and field-capable people into these discussions and how pivotal it is to support the base layer of...

To subscribe: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ On Today’s show, I welcome Contra Costa County Fire Captain and  Tablet Command  Co-founder Andy Bozzo. We discuss the evolving tech coming to the Wildfire industry and the importance of integrating it with the “old ways” and the expected hurdles along the way. There is always a place and a time for a certain tool, but how we merge these tools t...

On Today’s show: To Subscribe: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ I welcome the Director and Producer of Hotshot Movie Gabriel Mann. Gabriel recently attended the Red Sky Summit in California and describes the vibe and vision these companies have for the wildfire industry. Our conversation hopes to bring clarity to the public about what the needs are in the wildfire world, how folks can work t...

On Today’s Show: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ I lay out the case for hazard pay on Prescribed fire. It could actually save money, increase retention, and, one could argue, make the RX environment more safe. In the last few weeks, there have been major and severe injuries on prescribed burns around the Nation. I cover the fatalities that have occurred in RX burns in the last few years as...

Episode: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ Today, I welcome Bill Harsey, known worldwide for his award-winning knife designs for both special forces and the common man. Bill is a fourth-generation logger whose family moved to Oregon to make their way during the Great Depression. We also discuss his work in the Bull Run watershed, where a large wildfire occurred this fall. This area supplies t...

On Today’s Show, https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ I have on Doug Cote to discuss the record-breaking wildfire season in Canada. Doug has a long and extensive wildfire career, including smoke jumping in the Yukon, and now his career is focused on prescribed fire and aerial ignition work in the Northern Boreal forests and working with Indigenous communities to bolster burn programs. We discuss...