HOTSHOT CREW HISTORY IN AMERICA PRODUCED BY THE NATIONAL INTERAGENCY HOTSHOT CREW STEERING COMMITTEE October 2016 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 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 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 stations. 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 are often detailed to the Lower 48. Details have been primarily in Northern California and Idaho, as well as Utah and Nevada. Occasionally, the two crews are combined for Lower 48 assignment. 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 Type 2) standards. ALASKA FIRE SERVICE HOTSHOT SUPERINTENDENTS Chena IHC Midnight Sun IHC Denali IHC 1985-88 Jon Larson 1985 David Lockwood 1998 Larry Nolan 1989 Steve Bumgarner 1986-88 Jerry Soard 1999 Pat O’Brien 1990-93 Skip Theisen 1989-91 Dave Jandt 2000-2004 Lawrence Moses 1994 Mike Powell 1992 Dave Jandt 2005-06 Ray Crowe Mike Theisen Dave Matier 2007 Steve Boatman 1995 Skip Theisen 1993-97 Dave Matier 1996-98 Mike Theisen 1998 Shane McDonald 1999 Mike Theisen 1999-07 Dave Matier Shane McDonald 2008 Cory Swisher 2000 Shane McDonald 2009-10 Dave Matier 2001-03 Pat O’Brien 2010-14 Jake Livingston 2004-07 Jake Livingston 2015 Chris Demers 2008-13 Chris Marabetta 2014 Oded Shalom 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. Designs for the Black Mountain Crew Logo were solicited from employees on the forest. Jan Sanchez who worked in personnel management came up with the basis of the logo. It incorporated a stylized black outline of a mountain with an orange sun (setting or rising) and the Toiyabe National Forest logo of a man on a horse leading a pack string. The Black Mountain IHC was first based at the Stewart Indian Colony in Carson City, Nevada (1989-1990) where barracks space was rented; and a small storage garage at Stewart completed the station. Office space was at the Carson Ranger District Office in Carson City Nevada. In 1991 the crew base was moved a location at the Carson Ranger District Work Center site, located in Minden Nevada. While this provided space for the crew to gather and crew “cache”, no housing was available for two more years. The Forest acquired four modular office units from the abandoned Leviathan Mine that were remodeled and are currently being used for barracks for the crew. The crew has always been sponsored by the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and has never been disbanded or re-established. During Craig Workman’s tenure there were no fatalities and or serious injuries on the crew. Craig Retired in February of 2005. Matt Hoggard the long standing Assistant Superintendent (1996-2005) took over the program as Superintendent in March of 2005 who continues to carry on the outstanding reputation that is associated with the Black Mountain IHC. In the spring of 2013 the crew moved from the Work Center in Minden Nevada to a newly build Interagency Work Center and barracks located a few miles north at the Plymouth Work Center. The crew is co-located with the BLM Silver State Hotshot Crew. Matt Hoggard retired in January of 2016, having worked on Black Mountain since 1991. Superintendents: Assistant Superintendents: Craig Workman 1989-2005 Grace Newell 1989-1993 Matt Hoggard 2005-2015 Dale Shippelhoute 1989-1990 Jeff Bell 1993-1994 Matt Hoggard 1996-2005 Matt James 2005-2008 Doug Clark 2009- 2013 Matt Gill 2015-present Jed Rudelbach 2015-present History of the Crew: Boise Hotshots, Boise IR, Payette IR, Payette Hotshots.