SigMT

All are trained in CPR , first aid, and extrication. Felling trees and running chainsaws, pumps, and hoses are basic requirements, and the typical recruit has at least one year of wildfire experience. Firefighting is not the only difficult part of the job. "For me, the first time I went to Alaska was challenging. It's so different how they do things there logistically," Knudsen says. "You fly in on a charter plane, take a bus to a heli-base, and you drop into the fire." Other challenges include "fires that grow 10,000 acres a day" and "fires that go on for months," Knudsen says. ough lookouts identify possible hazards such as where the blaze might travel, "dead trees falling on people or rocks that roll into people" are unpredictable. A fire at the Salmon River Breaks near Riggins, Idaho was particularly tough. "We would put in a line all day, cuing and scraping. We'd start with a fuel break, cut trees and brush all day, and scrape a trench to create another fuel break." Day aer day, they put in lines. "We did this for 14 days, had two days off, then were dispatched to do it all again," Knudsen remembers. It wasn't just the work that was challenging. "It was 110 degrees down by the river and super steep, so we would climb 2,500 feet by the end of the day." In 2012, several fires devastated Eastern Montana homes, livestock, and land, Knudsen recalls. "You'd get prey caught up in the job until you'd see what was going on around you. e hardest thing was driving "Fire is a natural part of the ecosystem and it plays an important role." The Lewis and Clark Hotshot Crew create a fuel break by removing trees and brush and digging an 18" trench. SiG MT 46

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