Lady Bird: "WHAT?! Seriously??"

At the exact moment you feel adjusted to whatever “normal” you’ve come to except, the little chess piece known as your Ameri-life gets picked up and relocated, not only to a different square, but onto an entirely different game. It is a funny little world, this place, and that is part of the reason I like it. You truly never know what to expect. One day you are in Dover, Delaware and the next you are in Albany, New York with a completely different group of people and a completely different project. How does that happen you ask?

…..very, very fast.

Last Monday my team leader pulled me aside at lunch and told me there was a chance I was going on a composite fire team… the very next day… in New York… for the rest of spike… sans all my teammates. WHAT?!

Finally, an hour before the end of work on Tuesday, Casey gave me this all-knowing smile and I knew I was leaving Moose 4 until late April. I had until 7:30pm that night to pack up all my stuff, organize my red bag, and say goodbye to my teammates. My teammates were pretty shocked at my same day departure, especially since this composite team is the first of the year for our core. None-the-less, they sent me off with plenty of hugs and well-wishes.

So that is the backstory to how I got to be in Albany, New York on a fire team. This team is known as FoxFire 1, and there are only four others in the crew. A nice break from the chaos of ten.

We are working for the Pine Bush Preserve outside the city helping them prep burn units for controlled burns. We had a few days under our belt at the Preserve and settling in nicely. Exploring Albany, eating copious amounts of NY pizza, and thrifting on the weekend.... lovely. A groggy Monday morning arrived, until about 7:20am that is. “Expect the Unexpected,” they tell you. Boy oh boy, do they mean it.

My roommate Maddi walks in the room from downstairs…

“Wildfire at Bear Mountain State Park! We’re going! Pack your red bag and all your fire stuff.”

My brain is suddenly awake. “WHAT!? Seriously?? We’re going? For how long? Where are we staying? Do I need my sleeping bag and shower stuff?”

“Not sure! We don’t know anything so pack everything.”

An hour later we are suited up in our Nomex and on the road.

What a crazy life.

Working on the wildfire was one of the coolest experiences I’ve had. I felt like I was walking into the Forbidden Forest that Harry knows all to well. There was a haze of smoke over all the trees and an intense smell of bonfire. It was a long day of hiking, digging and patrolling the line, watching for burning snags (dead trees) etc. But they feed you well and surprisingly there is a lot of downtime. This is mostly due to waiting around for your next instructions, new weather reports, or simply waiting to see what the fire is going to do. Below I found a video on youtube of a “firewhirl”. We got to see a few of these and because we worked until 11:30pm, they were best viewed at night. It was breathtaking. I'm sad to report that none of us had a camera that first night of the wildfire. The only pictures I have were taken from my teammates Ben's facebook. It was the second day when we snapped a few from the aftermath.

Since my post-grad brain can’t handle this much typing, I’m going to wrap up this story. Maybe if I get ambitious, I’ll whip up another post before my time in Albany comes to an end. Firefox 1 will be returning to Perry Point, MD early this Thursday to reunite with all the 160 other corps members. Spike is almost over folks. One down, three to go.

If only I could foresee what they will look like, but where would the fun be in that?

- liz