Praying for the firefighters
09/08/13 05:30
After the extreme wildfires of 1988 and 1989, it was evident that the various federal bureaucracies were not very good at working together. There were problems related to the procurement of equipment for fire crews, confusions over who was in charge at actual fire scenes and other issues that arose in the midst of the crisis. It was clear that additional interagency coordination was required to tackle really large problems such as raging wildfires. We lived in Boise, Idaho at the time and watched as the National Interagency Fire Center grew into a sophisticated logistical support center. The Center had been in place for many years. It was created in 1965 because of the need for the US Forest Service to be able to work with the Bureau of Land Management when fires crossed the boundaries between their respective management agencies. The National Weather Service had expertise that was also needed and before too long the National Park Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs came on board. Sometime later the US Fish and Wildlife Service joined in. In the aftermath of the failures of FEMA to provide adequate response to Hurricane Katrina, that agency was restructured and the US Fire Administration-FEMA joined the interagency fire center as well.
The concept works quite well. When there is a big fire anywhere in the US one center goes into action to provide logistical support from helicopters and air tankers to handcrews and ground equipment. Everything from shovels to airliners can be procured in a single location. Boise is a good location for the center. It is located in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, close to the center of the west’s fire territory. Because there are more federal lands in the west than in the east, the need for interagency cooperation is most noticeable out west. Boise also has a large airport than can handle any of the air equipment and excellent weather for year-round dispatch reliability.
One of the outgrowths of the cooperation is the Incident Information System that provides a single source for information about fires on public lands. The Incident Information System supported by all of the agencies named above plus the National Association of State Foresters. I find myself visiting the web site frequently for information and updates about fires across the region.
Because our family business was involved in supplying air support to the Forest Service and the National Park Service, I grew up around some of the firefighters and others involved in frontline fire management. From my earliest years I have understood that fires involve the lives of real people. Whenever I read about hand crews or the operation of air tankers, I think of the crews. The Interagency Fire Center may have a huge focus on equipment, but the equipment is all used by real human beings.
For a week, now, I have been checking out the updates on the Salmon Fire complex burning in a rugged area of the Cascades in northern California, not far from the Oregon Border. The fires were human-caused and now have grown to more than 9,000 acres. Campgrounds and rural housing areas have been evacuated and there are some forest closures in the extreme, tinder dry, red flag fire warning conditions. There are 1,175 people in the fire crews working to establish lines and contain the fire. One of them is a good friend of mine.
Like other firefighters I have known, Monty is intrigued by fire behavior and he thrives on the excitement of being needed and responding to a distant location. He is in peak physical condition and able to take the rigors of sleeping on the ground, working hard and long days in dirty and smoky conditions. He is a quick learner and is very smart in the way he works.
Still, fighting wildfires is very dangerous work. There have already been several injuries on this fire and everyone working the fire is inhaling more smoke than is healthy. The potential for this fire to blow up into a much bigger fire is great. There have been lots of dry thundershowers in the area. Tonight brings the best promise in more than a week for some precipitation with those storms. But the storms also bring high and erratic winds that can change the character of the fire in minutes.
We, who work in the church, have been called upon to think deeply about our vocation. In our denomination the process of preparing for ordination requires serious reflection upon one’s call to the ministry. Our ordination vows are serious life-long commitments that remind us constantly that our calling is not just to a way of earning a living – it is first and foremost a calling to a life of service. Because we have focused on our own vocation so deeply, sometimes we forget that other people are called to other vocations and that those calls are as genuine and as real as ours. In my head and heart I know that there are some who are called to medicine and teaching and governmental service. I know that there are honorable and meaningful vocations in construction and trade and food distribution. Sometimes, however, I work with people who have jobs, but who haven’t yet discovered their true vacation. As they ponder and contemplate they still need meals on the table and a roof over their heads, so they work for money to live.
In the ranks of firefighters, however, I do not need to be reminded that there are other vocations. Firefighters often feel called and compelled to pursue their calling. There are easier and safer ways to earn a living. A firefighter who is motivated by money only won’t long endure the rigors of the job and will move on to another way to obtain money. Those who stay discover that there is meaning in saving lives and protecting structures. They understand that their work is essential to the safety of the community. They may be risk takers, but they take their risks for a purpose and have a sense of the meaning of their lives.
So I pray for their safety. I read the reports of the fires and I hope for cooler and wetter weather. And I thank God that there are other meaningful vocations to which people are called by the Holy Spirit.
The concept works quite well. When there is a big fire anywhere in the US one center goes into action to provide logistical support from helicopters and air tankers to handcrews and ground equipment. Everything from shovels to airliners can be procured in a single location. Boise is a good location for the center. It is located in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, close to the center of the west’s fire territory. Because there are more federal lands in the west than in the east, the need for interagency cooperation is most noticeable out west. Boise also has a large airport than can handle any of the air equipment and excellent weather for year-round dispatch reliability.
One of the outgrowths of the cooperation is the Incident Information System that provides a single source for information about fires on public lands. The Incident Information System supported by all of the agencies named above plus the National Association of State Foresters. I find myself visiting the web site frequently for information and updates about fires across the region.
Because our family business was involved in supplying air support to the Forest Service and the National Park Service, I grew up around some of the firefighters and others involved in frontline fire management. From my earliest years I have understood that fires involve the lives of real people. Whenever I read about hand crews or the operation of air tankers, I think of the crews. The Interagency Fire Center may have a huge focus on equipment, but the equipment is all used by real human beings.
For a week, now, I have been checking out the updates on the Salmon Fire complex burning in a rugged area of the Cascades in northern California, not far from the Oregon Border. The fires were human-caused and now have grown to more than 9,000 acres. Campgrounds and rural housing areas have been evacuated and there are some forest closures in the extreme, tinder dry, red flag fire warning conditions. There are 1,175 people in the fire crews working to establish lines and contain the fire. One of them is a good friend of mine.
Like other firefighters I have known, Monty is intrigued by fire behavior and he thrives on the excitement of being needed and responding to a distant location. He is in peak physical condition and able to take the rigors of sleeping on the ground, working hard and long days in dirty and smoky conditions. He is a quick learner and is very smart in the way he works.
Still, fighting wildfires is very dangerous work. There have already been several injuries on this fire and everyone working the fire is inhaling more smoke than is healthy. The potential for this fire to blow up into a much bigger fire is great. There have been lots of dry thundershowers in the area. Tonight brings the best promise in more than a week for some precipitation with those storms. But the storms also bring high and erratic winds that can change the character of the fire in minutes.
We, who work in the church, have been called upon to think deeply about our vocation. In our denomination the process of preparing for ordination requires serious reflection upon one’s call to the ministry. Our ordination vows are serious life-long commitments that remind us constantly that our calling is not just to a way of earning a living – it is first and foremost a calling to a life of service. Because we have focused on our own vocation so deeply, sometimes we forget that other people are called to other vocations and that those calls are as genuine and as real as ours. In my head and heart I know that there are some who are called to medicine and teaching and governmental service. I know that there are honorable and meaningful vocations in construction and trade and food distribution. Sometimes, however, I work with people who have jobs, but who haven’t yet discovered their true vacation. As they ponder and contemplate they still need meals on the table and a roof over their heads, so they work for money to live.
In the ranks of firefighters, however, I do not need to be reminded that there are other vocations. Firefighters often feel called and compelled to pursue their calling. There are easier and safer ways to earn a living. A firefighter who is motivated by money only won’t long endure the rigors of the job and will move on to another way to obtain money. Those who stay discover that there is meaning in saving lives and protecting structures. They understand that their work is essential to the safety of the community. They may be risk takers, but they take their risks for a purpose and have a sense of the meaning of their lives.
So I pray for their safety. I read the reports of the fires and I hope for cooler and wetter weather. And I thank God that there are other meaningful vocations to which people are called by the Holy Spirit.