Jake Jakabosky
Philip Haner in High Prairie’s brush truck
Philip Haner and Ron McDonald recently spent eight days helping firefighting efforts on the 37,000 acre Jolly Mountain fire near Cle Elum, WA. They went to support fellow firefighters and help protect life and property. Because of their efforts, Fire District 14 will be receiving $7,000 for committing our brush truck during that period.
The two men spent most of their time defending homes near the fire. In addition to laying hoses in case a fire flare-up threatened the house, they assisted in removing vegetation near homes while a large track-mounted chipper chewed up trees up to 10” in diameter to reduce the fuel load.
Philip and Ron found the planning and preparations by the Interagency Incident Management Team to be most interesting. During a period when the fire was moving slowly, fire lines and hoses were laid down finger ridges, starting from the main ridge on top where pumps and water filled drop tanks were installed. Smaller diameter branch line hoses attached to the main line were then used in fuel burnout, fire suppression and mop up operations to effectively stop the fire’s advance.
Local residents showed their appreciation daily. One family with young children stood by the road cheering firefighters every evening as they drove out to fire camp. At another house, a 90 year old man sat on his porch waving the American flag. Ron and Philip say they found the whole experience to be rewarding.
With our brush truck and crew out of district, and needing to maintain adequate local coverage, we didn’t commit resources (people and rigs) to other fires such as the Eagle Creek fire. However, after prior coordination between the Lyle and High Prairie Fire Districts, Lyle sent an apparatus to defend homes in Cascade Locks.
