Kirk said:
I can. Try a fire in early July on the Mesa Ranger District of the Tonto National Forest. Then imagine working night shift and fire camp being set up in a large gravel pit. I tried to remember this as much as possible on my third trip to Happy Camp on the Klamath NF some years back when it was about 105 and humid, with camp set up in a pasture with cured and mowed alfalfa hiding cow pies. I had to pull night shift on that one too. While the work shift sounds nice and cool, working a wildland fire is not all that fun at night, and then trying to sleep during the middle of the day where the hot interior of your tent is the only shade available for miles has to be the topper!
By the way, it is said that your fire career isn't complete until you have been sent to Happy Camp for a week or more. It isn't just where camp is set up, it is the steepness of that part of the Klamath that is beyond description. The Forest is 1.7 million map acres but has to be about 25 million acres when you build fireline or mop up fires on it. Double yikes!!
