Tag: west mims fire

Life, One Day at a Time

West Mims Fire

My days have been turned upside down as of late. I know I  mentioned a few weeks ago the fire blazing through Okefonokee Swamp, but now I have a much more hands on feel for it.

My Battalion Chief informed our whole shift that we would be swapping days and going down to the West Mims fire to help with structure protection. I was kind of surprised because earlier talks suggested we would not be making the trip. But, to the front lines we went.

I have been down twice for 2, 12 hour shifts as of typing this and it has been quite the experience. I’ve been a firefighter for 3 years now, I’ve seen a decent amount of events. Many house fires, car fires, intense medical calls and calls I wish I could erase from my memory. But, this is a whole different beast.

First you have to understand what were doing. Basically, we go to a staging area where everyone is, then wait for our “assignment.” Command will tell us where to go and then we make way there. Usually it’s a house or a few houses in the middle of nowhere. We arrive, we park in such a way that we could escape easily if things go bad fast and then just wait. Wait for fire.

Waiting really eats up the majority of our time. But its never a comfortable wait. There is always an eerie feeling like conditions can change in a moments notice. It’s quite the experience. Hurry up and wait. But waiting for a fire is never pleasant, as you could imagine.

I am unsure how long our stay at the West Mims fire will last, but I am learning a lot and getting a ton of experience. I hate it that all these people were forced to evacuate from their lives, though. The town of St. George, GA has been nothing but great to all the firefighters. They have offered free everything to everyone.

Hopefully this is over soon, but in the meantime I’ll be out there doing my small part in this huge effort.

Life, One Day at a Time

Fire in the Sky

There has been an ominous feeling in the air the past few days. If you haven’t been up on weather news in southeast America, the West Mims wildland fire is still roaring about. As of this minute, the blaze has scorched 49,000 acres. Mostly contained in the Okefonokee Swamp, we here in Kingsland, GA have had eerie like conditions the past 48 hours.

Hazy smoke in the air, the smell of a fresh structure fire and small ashes gracefully dropping down to the ground. I must say growing up and living 27 years of my life in Connecticut, I am more than used to bad weather and atmosphere. Of course, that would all fall in the category of snow. But down here, is a whole other ballgame. Hurricanes, Wildland fires, a couple tornado warnings since we’ve moved. South Georgia has proven thus far to be a super hazardous area for weather.

But I like feeling the calm before the storm. I look for opportunities to be out experiencing it. For whatever reason, I feel a closeness with the energy it gives off. So around 8 tonight, I took one look out the window and got that cozy, windy weather feeling. I grabbed Little Luca, strapped him in his stroller and there we were, out on a walk under the pinkish, smokey sky. It was quite memorable to say the least. Just quiet in the air, no talking. He was very calm and enjoying the subtle breeze, as was I.

I’m unsure what the status is w/ the West Mims fire, but I hope they are starting to get a leg up on things. Looking at the map, the head of the fire is not moving towards our home at all. So, I’m thankful for that. It is intact heading towards where I work. The guys have been saying “no way it reaches us.” So I take them at their word and experience. As for the residents affected, I hope they heed the fire officials directions. Most don’t believe it or not.

I am also keeping all those Wildland firefighters in my prayers. They don’t get enough attention for the risks they take. Just Youtube Fire Tornado, that’ll help you understand what these guys are dealing with.