Hotshots: firefighting special forces
Hotshots are to firefighting what Special Forces are to the military. Their training is intense. Their assignments are extreme. And their members are some of the most elite firefighters in the world.
Hotshots
These elite firefighters are up against high erratic winds, extreme temperatures, fast-moving flames and low light conditions. Yet, they run toward danger, as seemingly everyone else is running away.
"They're the ones that are going to be assigned to the most challenging parts of the fire," says Jennifer Jones, a Public Affairs Specialist with the U.S. Forest Service. "Hotshots go into the steepest terrain, the most active parts of the fire."
Hotshots
It's not uncommon for Hotshots to drop into steep terrain and climb up the sides of mountains to combat wildland fires. As such, they have to learn how to battle the blazes, using only equipment they can carry with their hands.
Hotshots
When a call comes in, they drop everything and fly or drive long distances to combat out-of-control wildfires, wherever they may be. In fact, in 2014, the National Interagency Fire Center calculated that Hotshots drove a staggering 4,879,912 miles to respond to an average of 112 wildfires per crew.
Hotshots
Hotshots are specifically trained to respond to fires in the most remote regions of the U.S., where there is little to no logistical support to aid in firefighting efforts.
Hotshots
Hotshots have to be at the peak of physical fitness. Their training regiments include doing 40 sit-ups in 60 seconds and running one and a half miles in under 11 minutes.
Hotshots
Hotshot crews trace their history back to the late 1940s, when they were assigned to the hottest parts of the wildfires in Southern California's Cleveland and Angeles National Forests.
Hotshots
Merriam-Webster defines "hotshot" as "a person who is conspicuously talented or successful." So, considering their elite status within the firefighting community, Hotshots is an apt name from a formal English language perspective as well.
Hotshots
Bulldozers and firetrucks aren't able to follow Hotshots into the remote wilderness. So, these elite firefighters learn to use smaller equipment, like chainsaws and shovels, to combat out-of-control wildfires instead.
Hotshots
To become a Hotshot, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service states that firefighters must "achieve an arduous rating on the 'Pack Test,' which requires you to walk 3 miles with a 45 pound backpack in 45 minutes or less."
Here, firefighters from the Alta Hotshots trek up steep terrain in full gear to battle a blaze, illustrating just why that sort of training is necessary.
Hotshots
Hotshot crews can be called to fires anywhere in the United States, but most calls take them out to the drought-ridden West.
To get there, Hotshots primarily travel by truck, van or plane. To get to the more remote fire sites, however, crews must either hike or drop in by helicopter.
Hotshots
During the six months of peak wildfire season, hotshots are on call 24 hours a day and seven days a week. In fact, much of their work is done at night when temperatures are cooler and the relative humidity in the air is higher.
Hotshots
Fire assignments often take Hotshots away from home for several weeks at a time.
They pack all the water and supplies they need, then camp out on the ground near the wildland fire they're working to suppress.
Most often sleeping in remote wilderness locations, Hotshots are lucky to get a shower every couple of days.
Hotshots
There are about 2,000 Hotshots nationwide, divided into roughly 107 crews of 20 firefighters.
Here, a column of U.S. Forest Service Hotshot firefighters walk along the edge of the Springs fire near Camarillo, California, May 4, 2013.
Smokejumpers
While Hotshots hike up to battle remote wildfires on foot, Smokejumpers parachute in. These elite wildland firefighters are most often deployed to battle wildfires in extremely remote areas, before the flames spread far enough to pose a threat.
After Smokejumpers land near a blaze, food and water are dropped down to them by parachute. This way, they can be self-sufficient for up to 48 hours at a time.
Smokejumpers
Hotshots and Smokejumpers are considered the two most highly skilled, trained, and experienced firefighting crews at the U.S. Forest Service's disposal. Becoming a Smokejumper, however, is a bit more competitive because, while there are about 2,000 Hotshots nationwide, there are only about 400 smokejumpers. So, you often see Hotshots becoming Smokejumpers after a few years of service.
Smokejumpers
Rookie Smokejumpers must complete a five-week course of training, in which they do 15 parachute jumps into various terrains, including trees, open areas and lakes.
Hotshots
Hotshots often work 12 to 16 hour days combating fast-moving wildfires by constructing fire lines, clearing brush away from encroaching fires, and digging trenches down to the mineral soil on which fire cannot burn.
Hotshots
In July 2013, former Hotshot squad boss Frank Carroll described the intense training Hotshot firefighters endure to National Geographic:
"You run for miles and you put on all of your gear--it's about 40 pounds --and you walk straight up the side of a mountain until you get to the top and then you come back down and do it again... You do push-ups and pull-ups and you run some more."
Here, firefighters of the Blue Ridge Hotshots crew from the Coconino National Forest in Arizona clear trees and brush ahead of a 226-square-mile fire in Pacoima Canyon, California.
Hotshots
The ability to survive in the outdoors is crucial when working as a Hotshots firefighter. In fact, the website for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Fire Management Branch asks all prospective applicants:
"Can you drive a truck with a manual transmission? Can you change a tire? Can you run a chainsaw? Can you pitch a tent? Can you tie half a dozen knots and sharpen a knife? Can you read a topographic map? Can you use a compass?"
These skills no doubt come in handy when battling fast-moving wildfires in extreme weather conditions and low light. The Payson Hotshots pictured here, for example, work at night to monitor a back burn near Tuscon, Arizona.
Granite Mountain Hotshots
Sadly, though, being a Hotshot is extremely dangerous.
On June 30, 2013, 19 of the 20 members of the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew from Prescott, Arizona were killed while battling an out-of-control wildfire near Yarnell, Arizona.
When 45 mile-per-hour wind gusts caused the fire to overtake their position, the Hotshots were forced to deploy emergency tent-like fire structures, which were meant to shield them from the flames and heat, but proved insufficient. The lone survivor of the crew only escaped because he was moving the crew's truck when the flames roared over the men. It was the nation's biggest loss of firefighters in a wildfire in 80 years.
Granite Mountain Hotshots
A memorial for the 19 fallen firefighters of the Granite Mountain Hotshots crew was erected in Prescott, Arizona, just across the street from Station 72 where the men were stationed. Many people came to pay their respects.
Granite Mountain Hotshots
The 19 fallen members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots crew left behind families of grieving loved ones. Here, two of their children's baby clothes hang in remembrance at the memorial.
Granite Mountain Hotshots
Loved ones grieve as the casket carrying the bodies of two of the nineteen firefighters killed fighting the Yarnell Fire arrive aboard a C-130 transport plane to the Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos Air Field on July 10, 2013.
The memorial ramp ceremony, which took place shortly after this photo was taken, honored Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew members 21-year-old Kevin Woyjeck and 20-year-old Christopher MacKenzie.
Granite Mountain Hotshots
An honor guard presents families with an American Flag during a memorial service for the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots who were killed on June 30, while battling the out-of-control Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona.