GREAT FALLS — The Chief Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew, based in Browning, is currently deployed to help fight a wildfire in New York.
The Jennings Creek wildfire is primarily in the Sterling Forest State Park and is boxed in by fire lines. To date, the fire has burned 5,304 acres, and is about 88% contained.
Josh Birdrattler, one of the Chief Mountain hotshots, talked with Jeff Wernick of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation about his team's 14-day deployment and how they are working with other agencies in fighting the fire:
“It’s just been a pleasure working alongside of them. It’s kind of what the Hotshot crews do back home, they’re the ones that run the show, wherever we go, you know. It’s just a great opportunity to see [other firefighting agencies’] techniques of fighting fire and adding some of ours from back home,” said Birdrattler.
He explained, “We’ve been kind of comparing it to a grass fire that we’d have back home. You add the wind factor, you’re going to get a lot of fire activity with the wind. Kind of the same here with the leaf litter. That’s how we’re applying our tactics from back home to here.”
“It’s a big fire for New York, the biggest one I’ve been on. With the terrain and the weather, really steep, nasty, rocky country. Difficult to get access to the actual fire,” explained Tyler Birggs, a firefighter from Albany, New York.
From the website of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs:
The Chief Mountain Hotshots are a Native American elite firefighting crew based out of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation located at Browning, MT with Glacier National Park as their backyard. The 1988-1989 fire seasons were the two trial years for the crew. In 1990, the crew received their Type 1 IHC status.
The Chief Mountain Hotshots are known as the “Warriors of the Forest” and have built an excellent reputation for safety and professionalism. In 1999 the crew received the National Safety Award for zero lost time accidents and zero reportable vehicle accidents.
The Chief Mountain Hotshots are a highly trained self-sufficient hotshot crew working in wildland firefighting. On average, the Crew works 15-20 large fire incidents and travels 10,000-20,000 miles a year.
Interagency hotshot crews (IHCs), also known as Type 1 hand crews, are teams of 18-25 firefighters that respond to fire incidents by working and camping near the frontlines of active wildfires, and by coordinating closely with firefighting aircraft and engine crews.
Hotshot crews have more stringent requirements for fitness level, firefighting experience, and skill and leadership qualifications than Type 2 and Type 2 Initial Attack hand crews. They are considered elite among wildland firefighters due to their extensive training, high physical standards and ability to undertake difficult assignments.
