HOTSHOT CREW HISTORY IN AMERICA PRODUCED BY THE NATIONAL INTERAGENCY HOTSHOT CREW STEERING COMMITTEE August 2019 Alaska PutrtoRlco ALASKA FIRE SERVICE HOTSHOTS The first Alaska Bureau of Land Management seasonal fire crew was started by Anchorage District in 1974. Named the Anchorage Hotshots*, crew size was set at sixteen members to meet the carrying capacity of the Twin Otter airplane (due to lack of roads, crew transport primarily consisted of fixed and rotor wing aircraft). The crew was intended to be the first reinforcement for Initial Attack forces. In 1976, another crew was formed at the same location. Both crews were moved to Kenai in 1979, on the peninsula southwest of Anchorage. The two crews were known as the Red and Black crews due to the red or black stripes on their hardhats. Seeing the value of a dependable organized crew for fire reinforcement as well as a hiring pool for the primary initial attack forces (Helitack and Smokejumpers), the Alaska Bureau of Land Management decided to increase their Hotshot* crew program. From 1981 to 1982, Alaska BLM stationed Hotshot* crews in Kenai, McGrath (located on the Kuskokwim River in Southwest Alaska), Tanacross (located on the Alaska Highway near the border of Canada’s Yukon Territory), and Fairbanks (Interior Alaska). The Alaska Fire Service was established in 1982, which shifted wildfire management responsibilities from the BLM Districts and provided firefighting services to all Federal, Native, and some State of Alaska lands north of the Alaska Range. By this time there were only two seasonal BLM fire crews (Hotshot* crew #1 & #2), both based at Ft. Wainwright, an Army base located on the outskirts of Fairbanks Alaska. When in Fairbanks, the crews lived in military barracks and ate meals at the BLM mess hall. During the fire season, the crews were often temporarily relocated to bush station. In 1985, the decision was made to convert the Alaska Fire Service Hotshot* crews to Interagency Type 1 status. Efforts were made to develop stability in the Hotshot program and ensure that the Alaska Fire Service Hotshots met all agency and interagency goals and standards. At that time, Fairbanks Hotshot* Crews #1 & #2 were renamed Chena IHC and Midnight Sun IHC. The Alaska fire season normally starts and ends earlier than in the Western States. At the conclusion of the Alaska fire season, the Chena and Midnight Sun Hotshots head down to the lower 48 for fire assignments. Both crews currently keep their crew vehicles and miscellaneous firefighting supplies at NIFC. While in the lower 48, they are dispatched through the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center and are not attached to a specific geographic area. They generally stay in the lower 48 until there is no longer a critical need for IHC’s. A 1998 agreement between Chugachmuit Native Corporation and the Alaska Bureau of Land Management created a third hotshot crew to be managed under the Alaska Fire Service Hotshot Program. The Denali Hotshots, also stationed at Ft. Wainwright, were active between 1998 and 2007. All Denali IHC Superintendents were former Chena IHC or Midnight Sun IHC members. The Hotshot Program has remained an integral and highly valued component of the Alaska Fire Service as well as one of its most visible. The program and its members continue to serve their mission well and are proud of their achievements. *Though the pre-1985 crews were referred to as “Hotshots”, they actually met Category 2 (later Type2) standards. ALASKA FIRE SERVICE HOTSHOT SUPERINTENDENTS Chena IHC Midnight Sun IHC Denali IHC 1985-88 Jon Larson 1985 David 1998 Larry Nolan 1989 Steve Lockwood 1999 Pat O’Brien Bumgarner 1986-88 Jerry Soard 2000- Lawrence 1990-93 Skip Theisen 1989-91 Dave Jandt 04 Moses 1994 Mike Powell 1992 Dave Jandt 2005- Ray Crowe 1994 Mike Theisen 1992 Dave Matier 06 1995 Skip Theisen 2007 Steve Boatman 1993-97 Dave Matier 1996-98 Mike Theisen 1998 Shane 1999 Mike Theisen McDonald 1999 Shane McDonald 1999-07 Dave Matier 2000 Shane 2008 Cory Swisher McDonald 2009-10 Dave Matier 2001-03 Pat O’Brien 2010-14 Jake Livingston 2004-07 Jake Livingston 2015- Chris Demers 2008-13 Chris 2017 Marabetta 2018- Chase Maness 2014- Oded Shalom Present 2018 2019- Iris Sager Present Midnight Sun IHC Pioneer Peak IHC History Pioneer Peak IHC is a State of Alaska DNR crew stationed in Palmer Alaska. The crew started in the 1980’s as a call up emergency firefighting crew and were known as the Mat Su Ridge Runners. Eventually they were just called the Mat Su Crew and were only emergency hired when fire danger was high enough. The beginnings of Pioneer Peak Hotshots start in 1996 when the Millers Reach fire burned 37,000 acres and destroyed 344 structures. It’s still the worst Urban Interface fire in Alaskan History and that fire made it clear to Fire Management Officers that they needed an organized Wildland Fire Crew in the heavily populated and fast growing Mat-Su Valley. In 2001 Wes Stevens became the Crew Boss and the Mat Su Crew started receiving funding to have a crew available all summer. Jeff Ennenga took over the crew in 2003 and in 2004 they became a Type 2IA Crew and changed the name to Pioneer Peak. In 2005 the crew received the “Regional Type 1” status and in 2007 Matt Jones took over as Superintendent and they became an IHC training crew. Matt brought his extensive knowledge from running the now disbanded Tazlina Hotshots and started building the culture that defines Pioneer Peak to this day. In the Spring of 2008 Pioneer Peak earned the Interagency Hotshot Crew status becoming one of only two State sponsored IHC Crews in the Nation. We pride ourselves in operating with an old-school work ethic that encompasses the raw toughness and strong mental attitude established by the Hotshot Crews before us. Sacrifice. Service. Old School. Superintendents: Jeff Ennenga - 2003-2006 (Pioneer Peak T2IA & Regional Type 1) Matt Jones – 2007 (Type 1) 2008-2015 (IHC) Jon Glover – 2016 Kris Baumgartner – 2017-Present Great Basin PuertoR ico The Alta Hotshots are a State of Utah hosted Interagency Hotshot Crew (IHC) based out of the Lone Peak Conservation Center in Draper, Utah. The Crew is typically organized from the end of April to the end of October. The first two weeks of every season are dedicated to refresher and proficiency training. During the 80 – 100 hour required training the crew will physically and mentally train together in the classroom and in the field to build a cohesive team collectively familiar with efficient tactics. Upon completion of required training the crew is placed available through the Great Basin Coordination Center. The GBCC manages a rotation of 12 Hotshot Crews for out of region assignments and dispatches closest resource to incidents within the Great Basin. The primary reason for assembling the crew is wildfire suppression. The crew is initially staffed with 23 firefighters including; One Superintendent, one Foreman and three squads, each in Dodge 5500 7 passenger buggies. There are 8 career positions on the crew and 15 seasonal crewmembers hired annually. Traditionally 2 – 4 new crewmember positions are filled yearly, due to attrition, through an application process carried out between November 1st and February 1st. When not assigned to an incident, the Alta Hotshots complete forestry related projects around the State of Utah. Projects include; fuel breaks, prescribed fire, defensible space, forest health and invasive species work. Due to the travel times to some project sites, camping is regularly used to complete target projects and save taxpayer money. This allows for long days and short project weeks when weather allows. The Alta Hotshots were officially established on June 13th, 2014. This followed a 4 year trainee period consisting of peer evaluations, an imbedded review and a certification review. The Alta Hotshots originated as the UFRA T2 crew established in 2003 with an agreement between Utah Valley University (UVU) and Utah State DNR. The crew was created to provide an engaged learning platform for students receiving wildland suppression courses through the schools emergency services department. In 2010 it was decided to begin the process of building the crew into an IHC. In 2012 the crew voted in the name change to Alta. Alta means “to the summit” in Latin. This articulates the direction crewmembers are expected to take the crew reputation. The wolverine found on the badge symbolizes the toughness crewmembers expect of each other. With the change in crew status, the Alta Hotshots now provide an engaged learning platform for career minded firefighters both from the original UVU student workforce and qualified applicants from other wildland fire programs. Ultimately, the Alta Hotshots will hire the most qualified applicants in order to staff a highly reliable Interagency Hotshot Crew. Black Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew 1989 – Present 1989-2005 2006-Present The Black Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew was established in 1988 through the efforts of the Toiyabe National Forest’s Fire Management officer, Stanley E. Fitzgerald. The crews first fire season was the summer of 1989. The crew name was suggested by Jennifer de Jung, a former employee of Stan’s, because “Toiyabe” is translated as “Black Mountain” in the local (Piute) Native American Language. Late that same year Robert Craig Workman was hired as the first Superintendent. Craig recruited 2 formen and 2 squad leaders as well as the more time consuming work of equipping the crew with tools, nomex, training materials, line and camp gear. The crew vehicles did not arrive in the first year so the crew used the Forest Assistant Fire Management Officer’s Suburban, plus two rental Suburbans and a surplus GSA pick-up.