Robert Complex Camp Tour

August 3

Keeps the dust down

Ground Support

We began our tour at Ground Support. These folks manage all the vehicles that are needed over the ground and provide transportation of crews to and from the fire area, deliveries, etc. We met Fabian Gomez who greeted us warmly and jokes were made about how well they ‘supported the ground.’

Bruce and Paul Neal

After this, we were directed to the information area, but on the way, we met Bruce and Paul Neal, who are two brothers taking a break from ranching in Augusta, Montana to fight fire. It was unique that they own and operate their own fire engine.

Alan Barbian

We then proceeded to the information area where Alan Barbian met us. He is an information officer from Wisconsin. He pointed out the layout of the camp, such as where the firefighters eat, wash, shower and sleep. Our curiosity got the best of us, so we proceeded to check it out. Alan had to leave due to a public tour going on at the same time as our visit.

Mess Tents

Inside

Salad Tent

Kitchen

Our first stop was the mess hall, or kitchen, where we observed the elaborate layout of facilities. There were two tent covered areas, filled with tables where everyone eats. The floor was covered with wood chips, which kept the mess area smelling sweet while minimizing the ever-present dust. Nearby is a separate tent devoted to a salad/dessert bar. There were three semi-trailers. One was the hot kitchen, and two were refrigerator trucks for storage. There was a sign, changed every day, of the daily menu.

Bear Signs

There were warning signs near the food area about bear safety and food storage.

We sampled the local cuisine, which consisted of round steak, sautéed mushrooms, twice baked potatoes, and garlic bread…heavy on the carbs. Why? Firefighters need lots of energy, and the kitchen is required, by contract, to supply them. How many? 6 to 8,000 calories per day. There was, however, a vegetarian substitute, called "vegetarian burger - meatless protein." For desert, we were treated to tasty cheesecake. We were impressed by the great service provided by the OKs Cascade Company, from Monroe Washington. Why, they even cleared our empty plates as we enjoyed the ambiance of the chow hall.

'Tent City'

Crew Customizing

After this full dinner, we longed for a place to nap, so we headed toward the ‘tent city.’ All incident bases, formerly called ‘fire camps,’ have these. They are usually set away from the hub-bub of the main camp…away from generators and such. In this camp, there were hundreds of individual sleeping tents. The crews unified themselves into groups according to their crew designation. Great pride was taken in customizing these areas.

Shower Trailers

Water Storage

Moving on, we next visited the shower semi-trailers. There were four of them. Each trailer was split by gender…men on the left, women on the right. The water was provided by large plastic containers, holding 1,500 gallons each (think of a Sasquatch waterbed) and disposed of in similar ‘gray water’ containers, periodically hauled off to be properly disposed of.

Our reporter interviews FDNY

About this time, two members from FDNY (Fire Department of New York City), on their first camping experience in the west, were preparing to experience fire camp showers. After being jokingly convinced to check in and out with the information officers (us), they were left alone to enjoy their hot showers.

Helibase

Helicopter Tour

'Ping Pong' Burnout machine

From there, we inadvertently stumbled upon the restricted ‘helibase.’ We were gently escorted toward a public tour that was getting briefed on the specifics of the Sikorsky helicopter used to ignite the Robert Fire back burns. To do this, it uses ping-pong ball sized vessels that contain various chemicals. These balls are put through a machine that pierces and inject another chemical to start the reaction. They are then released from the helicopter. They do not explode, but slowly ignite and burn for about a minute. This is enough time to allow dry fuels to ignite. Many are used on such a mission, and thousands have been use on the Robert Fire. This particular Sikorsky is operated by "5 State Helicopters Inc" out of Dallas Texas. By the way, we have a video where the function of this machine is described in detail.

Larry Teague & Rick Strubar

We chatted with crewmembers Larry Teague of Palmer Arkansas and Rick Struber of Everglades Florida. This particular helicopter, interestingly enough, was used in the 1980’s TV series "Riptide."

Lake McDonald

At this point, we were finally run out by camp security (just kidding!). Actually, we needed to leave camp to allow time to visit the Apgar area and see the Robert Fire burnout area firsthand.

Our tour of the Robert Camp showed us a day in the camp life of a Wildland firefighter. We came away with an appreciation of how hard these firefighters work during the day protecting resources and lives, and how hard the camp personnel work to keep them comfortable during their time at camp.

Robert’s Complex Camp Tour