2017 Wild Fire Season

Canyon Fire Engine 571

Canyon Fire is excited for the upcoming fire season. We have had a very wet winter and it is expected to be a very busy fire season. We have our updated terms into the federal government and we anticipate that the new Dispatch Priority List (DPL) will be released soon.

Our crew is new this year. We have one firefighter from Hayden, ID, and the other from Charleston, SC.

Meet our fire fighters for 2017

Kyle - Certified EMT

Howdy. My name is Kyle. You can catch me slashing powder in the winter on my snowboard, fighting wild fires in the summer and fly fishing any time I find a river. I have a love for the outdoors. Also, I try to be a well rounded individual with knowledge I can share with my friends and co-workers.

Alexander - Sawyer A

My name is Alexander. I'm 21 years old from Madison Indiana now living on the coast of Georgia. My hobbies include kayaking, swimming, and hiking. I live on the coast of Georgia with my beautiful fiancee Maggie and her two children. 

They have completed all of their safety and training courses for this year including specialty courses in EMT and chainsaw operations.

Our engine captain, Gary, is busy getting the engine polished up and ready to roll. He loves spending his time getting everything set up for a successful season. In preparation of this season we had the engine's main pump worked on by General Fire, the DOT inspection is complete and now we excited for the new DPL and the fire season to start.

We are Ready to Roll

Stay Safe,

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,