The Hotshot Wake Up

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It was revealed in court documents this week that a helicopter pilot tried to take down a hobby drone over a wildfire with bucket drops. The pilot was between drops, protecting homes, when he spotted the drone.

The judge in the case fined the drone operator $5K, well below the recommended amount, set forth in the Wildfire Act. The drone pilot argued he didn’t know firefighters and pilots were engaged in the massive inferno.

A conversation about the growing issue of hobby drones over wildfires, and the lengths firefighters and pilots are forced to take to mitigate them.

Forest Service Chief Schultz sends out a memo declaring an end to red tape and cumbersome mandates, and putting decision-making back in the hands of operators on the ground.

Europe launches new wildfire center and is working to expand funding for mitigation, aviation, and training. Huge wildfire aviation conference in Rome.

California HOA sues homeowners for $23,000 and tries to foreclose on properties burned down in the Eaton Fire.

A full operational update and a rant.

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As we head into crews coming on, a conversation about pre-season jitters.

I talk about how I and others trained for the season, the first day on a Hotshot crew, and what was expected versus the reality. The jitters are normal; it means you care.

A Minnesota woman was fined $150,000 for not calling in a wildfire that started on her property. The MN DNR doesn’t usually fine large amounts, maybe this is their way of setting an example? Full story.

Fires are popping up across the western United States. Multiple new starts in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Full Operational Update as we increase to a PL2.

THE HOTSHOT WAKE UP — Thank you to all of our paid subscribers. Your support allows us to donate generously to firefighter charities and supports all of our content. You also receive all of our article archives, more podcast episodes, Monday morning workouts, and also entered into our giveaways, plus more.

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Wildfires in Nebraska have burned nearly 700,000 acres this week, with the Morrill Fire now the largest in the State’s history. Full update.

South Dakota got a wake-up call with the Qury Fire, now 7,200 acres. The fire’s management has already expressed a shortage of aviation resources due to the ongoing fires in Nebraska.

The Southwest is expecting a critical fire weather event pushing in early this week, with temperatures above 100 degrees. Fire managers and Incident Management Teams are prepping for a possible wildfire outbreak.

Elected officials in Colorado sent a letter to Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz, asking for more prescribed burns and forest mitigation work due to concerns over record-low snowpacks. But asking Agencies and Firefighters to put more fire on the ground in these conditions is a big ask… and still no hazard pay for these increasingly hazardous operations. A full discussion on this.

When do you declare an escaped burn a wildfire? A new report from the Klamath National Forest.

Plus more.

THE HOTSHOT WAKE UP — Thank you to all of our paid subscribers. Your support allows us to donate generously to firefighter charities and supports all of our content. You also receive all of our article archives, more podcast episodes, Monday morning workouts, and also entered into our giveaways, plus more.

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Sam Forstag joins the show today to talk about his time as a wildland firefighter and Smokejumper, before deciding to enter a different arena, running for a congressional seat in Montana. Sam has been a longtime advocate for the wildfire workforce, working as Vice President of his union’s local.
We talk wildfire issues, wildfire costs, housing costs, public lands, and a litany of other topics. Sam has been traveling throughout Montana for the last month in anticipation of the June 2nd Primary.
THE HOTSHOT WAKE UP — Thank you to all of our paid subscribers. Your support allows us to donate generously to firefighter charities and supports all of our content. You also receive all of our article archives, more podcast episodes, Monday morning workouts, and also entered into our giveaways, plus more.

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A new study on Meals Ready To Eat, MREs, was done by the organazation Mom’s Across America. These meals are carried and eaten by wildland firefighters across America. I’ve eaten hundreds, if not thousands, of them. Mom’s Across America provided 24 different MRE items to 3rd-party independent laboratories for testing. The results… much worse than you could imagine.
Some items contained 17,300% the safe aluminum levels, very high levels of lead and mercury in certain drink powders, apples with 27 pesticides, some of which are banned. They found levels of Trenbolone manufactured in China in food items, a very strong anabolic steroid with horrific side effects.
I cover the entire study and the items they tested. They now warn of severe health issues from bioaccumulation of these chemicals, including cancers, birth defects, in utero defects, androgenizing females, and violent tendencies.
They offer solutions to change this food system and lay out the minimal costs required.
THE HOTSHOT WAKE UP — Thank you to all of our paid subscribers. Your support allows us to donate generously to firefighter charities and supports all of our content. You also receive all of our article archives, more podcast episodes, Monday morning workouts, and also entered into our giveaways, plus more.