The 2017 Season in Review

North Mill Fire, Our engine crew are the 3 on the right.

We started the 2017 season with our first call out on July 16th and finished on September 19th. Looking back it was a great season - and most importantly, everyone stayed safe. Just a few blisters, bee stings, scrapes, and bruises.

The fires were were dispatched to include:

• Redford Canyon - Keller, WA
• Loden Flats - Colville Indian Reservation
• North Mill - Colville, WA
• Noisy Creek - Metalinne Falls, WA
• Bridge Creek - Keller, WA
• Staley Fire - West Fir, OR
• Cetco Bar - Brookings, OR

There are more photos from the season below!

Looking forward to 2018!

Stay Safe,

Evidence of the hard work!

Super Scooper in Loon Lake, WA

Thirsty Helicopter Scoops from Loon Lake

Fire Camp Food 2017

Hello!

Firefighting is tough work.

Up at 4:30 AM, living in a tent, sleeping in a sleeping bag, port-a-potties, hand wash stations, no TV, limited cell service, lots and lots of dirt and dust... not to mention the physical exertion of climbing hills, pulling hose, digging fire breaks, etc.

One of the highlights of the job is the food. The regulations call for 8,000 calories a day for each firefighter. Food vendors are paid well to provide the food our fire fighters need to keep up with the arduous job.

You can tell that the food is one of the best parts because they send back lots of pictures of the meals. Below gives you a feeling for the food that our firefighter were served during the 2017 season.

If you are interested in a firefighting position  for the 2018 season, we are hiring! Please send your resume or job history to gary@canyonfirenw.com

Stay Safe,

Region 6 - Northeast Washington Interagency Communication Center

Our Engine Gets to a Fire by Ferry

Canyon Fire is dispatched out of the Northeast Washington Interagency Communications Center (NEC) located in Colville, WA. Region 6 covers Washington and Oregon. We can be called to any region but the majority of our fires are in Washington and Oregon. We have been called to fires as close as Spokane and even to California.

NEC is the fourth busiest dispatch by number of wildland fires in the Western United States. The busiest is Arizona Interagency Dispatch followed by Cleveland National Forest and Northern Utah in order.

NEC Incident Breakdown for 2017

This season we fought the Chetco Bar fire near Brookings, OR, which is the furthest point from us in Region 6 on the Southwest border of Oregon and California.

Over the last two seasons we were dispatched the Colville Indian Reservation and the fastest way is taking a ferry over Lake Roosevelt (Columbia River). Whatever it takes, we are committed to getting there.

Stay Safe,

2017 Wild Fire Season

Canyon Fire Engine 571

Canyon Fire is excited for the upcoming fire season. We have had a very wet winter and it is expected to be a very busy fire season. We have our updated terms into the federal government and we anticipate that the new Dispatch Priority List (DPL) will be released soon.

Our crew is new this year. We have one firefighter from Hayden, ID, and the other from Charleston, SC.

Meet our fire fighters for 2017

Kyle - Certified EMT

Howdy. My name is Kyle. You can catch me slashing powder in the winter on my snowboard, fighting wild fires in the summer and fly fishing any time I find a river. I have a love for the outdoors. Also, I try to be a well rounded individual with knowledge I can share with my friends and co-workers.

Alexander - Sawyer A

My name is Alexander. I'm 21 years old from Madison Indiana now living on the coast of Georgia. My hobbies include kayaking, swimming, and hiking. I live on the coast of Georgia with my beautiful fiancee Maggie and her two children. 

They have completed all of their safety and training courses for this year including specialty courses in EMT and chainsaw operations.

Our engine captain, Gary, is busy getting the engine polished up and ready to roll. He loves spending his time getting everything set up for a successful season. In preparation of this season we had the engine's main pump worked on by General Fire, the DOT inspection is complete and now we excited for the new DPL and the fire season to start.

We are Ready to Roll

Stay Safe,

Elmer City Fire - Colville Tribe

The Elmer City Fire was at the Grand Coulee Dam. Our crew's job was to keep the electrical system for the dam safe with patrol and mop up activities.

Elmer City Fire above Grand Coulee Dam

Management reported that our crew did an outstanding job. Gary used slower times to train our crew as this was our first incident for Nathan and Brian.

The vistas were stunning!

Stay Safe,

AJ and I are On It!

After several fires, Engine 571 needed a little maintenance. AJ and I took the wheel as Gary rested from the previous incident.

Denise behind the wheel. I was tempted to run with the siren haha.

AJ loved being the co-captain.

It is kind of strange to see Engine 571 up in the air like that.

After the day "at the spa", Engine 571 is ready to roll again.

Stay Safe,

Wellesley + Yale Road Fires (Spokane Complex)

It was pretty amazing to have two large fires break out in our home town. In fact, we were called as Engine #1 - the very first resource. Local firefighter, Brandon, was available for this initial attack. At first, it seemed suspicious that the two fires were started at the same time. However, it was determined that the wind knocked down electrical lines and started the fires in both cases.

The fire camp was at the Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds. After initial attack, we were assigned to nights. Until indoor accommodation were set up, that meant our crew attempted to sleep at the fairground in a tent, in the sun,  and in 100 degrees. That wasn't easy!

Canyon Fire assisted agencies, cooperators and the public with safety and property protection. Sadly, a few homes were lost in these fires.

Stay Safe,