Brown leads firefighter division in California

Ron Brown, task force leader and engine boss on wildland fires for the Wyoming State Forestry Division, was called out to fight two fires in California over the summer, with the first lasting 21 days and the second 18. The second fire was held at just under 30,000 acres between Reading, Calif. and the Pacific Ocean.

"It's funny to say, but it was all in all a good fire," Brown said. There were no major injuries or property damage on the fires he fought. "Considering the fires that are going on and have been going on-they're going in complexity. They're taking out a lot of resources to take them down."

According to Brown, firefighters from all over the nation and internationally were called to help fight the fires on the west coast this year. In his crews, at least, everyone was unharmed, though they all mourned those that lost their lives fighting fires.

"A handful of people doesn't seem like that much, but to us it's too much. You lose one and it affects the whole team, we all feel it," Brown said.

As a task force leader, Brown took over the responsibility of looking after several crews under him for days that typically lasted 14-16 hours, and he was "lucky to get a half hour for lunch."

"My morning started around 4:30 (a.m.), get up, get your eyes open, get down as much coffee as you can." Briefings for the day would start and then Brown along with division leaders would try to get everyone out as soon around 7 a.m., normally not off the hill until between 8 and 9 p.m.

This was Brown's ninth season fighting fires, which he originally got into because of a "sense of service." He saw a need for more fire responding locally. Though he got into search and rescue later, it all started with a desire to help out the local fire effort.

"That's kind of the foundation of everything around here, is being involved with the volunteer fire department," Brown said. When those associated with volunteer fire departments here are called out to fight a fire, they are then considered a part of Wyoming State Forestry. "People need help and we're going to do whatever we can to help them out and get it done," Brown said.

This year, Brown said there was a limited number of people from the area that were called out to assist on fires. "Our region was relatively quiet. In fact it was extremely quiet in a lot of cases." There were a lot of resources that we held back just in case out of concern that we would need it in an emergency situation, Brown said. Although the Platte Valley had a very wet spring, the grass has grown to be so tall that it poses a new threat.

"Make sure home's covered first. That was the objective," Brown said, although he says it is important to help out the rest of the nation. "There may be a day when they're out here watching our back door."