Elmer City Fire - Colville Tribe

The Elmer City Fire was at the Grand Coulee Dam. Our crew's job was to keep the electrical system for the dam safe with patrol and mop up activities.

Elmer City Fire above Grand Coulee Dam

Management reported that our crew did an outstanding job. Gary used slower times to train our crew as this was our first incident for Nathan and Brian.

The vistas were stunning!

Stay Safe,

AJ and I are On It!

After several fires, Engine 571 needed a little maintenance. AJ and I took the wheel as Gary rested from the previous incident.

Denise behind the wheel. I was tempted to run with the siren haha.

AJ loved being the co-captain.

It is kind of strange to see Engine 571 up in the air like that.

After the day "at the spa", Engine 571 is ready to roll again.

Stay Safe,

Wellesley + Yale Road Fires (Spokane Complex)

It was pretty amazing to have two large fires break out in our home town. In fact, we were called as Engine #1 - the very first resource. Local firefighter, Brandon, was available for this initial attack. At first, it seemed suspicious that the two fires were started at the same time. However, it was determined that the wind knocked down electrical lines and started the fires in both cases.

The fire camp was at the Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds. After initial attack, we were assigned to nights. Until indoor accommodation were set up, that meant our crew attempted to sleep at the fairground in a tent, in the sun,  and in 100 degrees. That wasn't easy!

Canyon Fire assisted agencies, cooperators and the public with safety and property protection. Sadly, a few homes were lost in these fires.

Stay Safe,

Kewa Fire - Colville Reservation

The Kewa Fire was near Incelium, WA on the Colville Reservation. Our Crew met at the engine and then rode up to take the ferry across to the Incelium Community Center where the fire camp was located.

Ferry on Lake Roosevelt

Canyon Fire helped the Colville Tribe and the National Park Service to suppress the fire and to keep the affected communities informed. This was our first incident on the reservation.

Water drops from Helicopter

The management team said that the Canyon Fire crew went "above and beyond the daily objectives and always stayed safe in every aspect." It is our goal to always exceed expectations.

Kayla and Hannah with the Incident Commander

This was a remote and interesting assignment. The crew stopped at a waterfront resort on the way home to clean up. It was great to have a strong shower and spirits were hight when they returned to Spokane.

Stay Safe,

Black Rock Road Fire

We were called out to the Black Road Road Fire in Odessa. Smoke from the fire could be seen from Spokane before we left. The firefighting objectives were to maintain safety of the public and the firefighting personnel, keep the fire footprint as small as possible, maintain good working relationships across the agencies and contractors and avoid damage to BLM cultural sites. We had the opportunity to meet many of the contractors dispatched with us out of NES (Colville, Region 6).

The management team noted that Canyon Fire demonstrated excellent work ethic and initiative in the absence of orders. We are blessed to have such a knowledgable Engine Boss, Gary, who retired from the U.S. Forest Service.

Hannah and Kayla get 'er done

This was a great opportunity to get out a provide a great service to the government and tribal agencies involved.

Stay Safe,

We did it!!

Engine 571 and AJ are ready to roll

It took longer than we expected but today we got the great news!! Canyon Fire’s engine 571 is #1 on the Dispatch Priority List out of NE Washington.

We are super excited about this. The firefighters are trained and ready to go. The engine is equipped, full of gas, washed and has SEVERAL coats for fresh wax (Gary loves to wash and wax). Our engine is statused as available in the dispatch system. Now we wait for the call. As you can imagine, Gary is ready to roll.

So far the fire season is running about 2 week earlier than normal. The predictions are for another record fire year. Canyon Fire is ready to be of assistance to the Federal Government. We are looking for a productive and safe 2016 fire season.

Ready to Roll,

Today the Region 6 Solicitations Closed

Today is the day! The Region 6 Solicitation for Engines closed at 4 PM. This means that every contractor that wants to participate for the next three years has put in their bid.

Every day we get closer to the 2016 wildfire season. Two of the items that are new for this season include: 1) new requirements for sawyer chaps and 2) helmets must be labeled for compliance.

Our next milestone is crew training. We are joining another team for training in Sandpoint on April 3rd. Our new FFT2 will get her S130/S190 that weekend and we will hire our backup staff.

We now await hearing how the bids panned out and our position in the dispatch priority list (DPL). We are shooting for being the best value.

Stay Safe,

Engine 571 Is Ready to Roll

Engine 571 - Type 6 Wildland Fire Engine

We attended the U.S. Forest Service’s Open House on January 27th in Colville. They were expecting about 40-60 people but around 120 showed up. There is a lot of need for wildland fire suppression resources for the upcoming season.  It also looks like there will be a great response of vendors. Resources needed include vehicles with drivers, weed wash stations, dozers, fallers, hand wash stations, water tenders and (near and dear to our hearts) wildland fire engines.

We have submitted our federal bid for Engine 571 which will be for the 2016-2018 timeframe. We even had Engine 571 inspected and it passed with flying colors. We are ready to roll.

Since we have done our Pack Test and RT-130, our red cards are being processed right now. We have a new firefighter that is signed up for her firefighter training. I am ready to apply for my yellow card as well.

Our logo’d crew shirts, hats and jackets have arrived. Yes, we are ready to roll. As you can see, Canyon Fire has jumped through all the steps necessary to have an amazing 2016 season.

Stay Safe,

FFT2s Pass The Pack Test

On January 10th our FFT2s, Hannah and Kayla, completed and passed their Pack Test (annual fitness test) at the Kroc Center in Coeur d’Alene, ID. Hannah bettered her 2015 time by about 50 seconds. This was the first time Kayla took the test and she passed with no issues.

Both tried their best to beat (the old guy) Gary’s time but he claims that he was faster and carried more weight haha.

On Saturday we are holding our annual refresher course – RT-130. We are still waiting for the federal solicitation to be released this month – expected January 19th.

As you can tell, we are all getting very excited!

Be Safe,

2016 Fire Season is Almost Here

While there is still snow on the ground here in Eastern Washington we are already busy preparing for the 2016 wildland fire season.

Gary and I completed our Pack Test (annual fitness test) on January 6th at the Spokane Club. I just did the walk test because I will not be on the fire line. Firefighters Hannah and Kayla will do theirs tomorrow at the Kroc Center in Coeur d’Alene. We are holding our refresher class, RT-130, next week.

Gary completing his physical competency Pack Test

Engine 571 is loaded and ready to roll. We have scheduled our annual inspection for the beginning of February.

Engine 571 is ready for the season

The U.S. Forest Service has a new solicitation coming out this month and we are ready submit our bid. We are also attending their pre-season meeting in Colville on January 27th.

So as you can see, while the holiday season is barely behind us and egg nog is still fresh on our minds, Canyon Fire is already in full gear preparing for a busy fire season.

Be Safe,