Firefighters risk lives in the line of fire
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Last updated 8/13/1996 at Noon
After nearly a month of dirty, exhausting and dangerous work, the 3,648-acre Jefferson blaze was contained on August 2 by fire crews from the Sisters Fire District and surrounding areas. The stubborn blaze tested the mettle of the men and women who have been battling it since it was started by an errant cigarette on July 8.
The terrain where the fire burned -- and is still smoldering -- made for extremely hostile firefighting conditions.
Engine leader Greg Hampton told The Nugget dead trees, or snags, and downed woody debris made putting in fire lines a slow and perilous task.
"There were really thick fuels. You have to watch where you're stepping all the time," the 18-year firefighting veteran said. "It was really slow moving."
With falling branches -- called "widow-makers" -- and burning snags threatening to come down on firefighters at any moment, fighting the Jefferson fire provided for some unsettling moments.
Wilderness specialist Paul Engstrom recalled how a branch fell silently from the top of a 150-foot tree, nearly brushing his hard hat and landing right in front of him.
"It wasn't a big branch, so it probably wouldn't have killed me," he said. "But it would have hurt me, I'm sure."
Hampton told of a snag that fell across the trail scattering his crew. Only a shouted warning from a lookout kept them from being crushed.
"When you have that many snags and that many hazards around, it's like a different game you have to play," suppression technician John Holcomb said. "The stress level is really intensified."
Engstrom said, "It's the noises and the feel of being out there that are kind of eerie sometimes."
Safety was the main concern on the line. Among the 837 men and women who helped contain the blaze, there were relatively few injuries. Those reported were limited to a hernia, a dislocated shoulder and a few bumps and bruises.
Hampton attributes the relative safety of the battle to the stringent precautionary measures taken by firefighting crews.
"Just being extra careful and making sure everyone knows what's going, that's the key," he said. But, he admitted "there's a small percentage of luck on each and every fire you go on."
"There's always that question: Is it worth it?" Hampton said. "Is it worth putting 20 to 60 people in jeopardy to save another hundred acres?"
Maret Pajutee, Sisters Ranger District Ecologist, knows fear that comes with putting firefighters in harm's way.
Her husband Rod Bonacker is a Forest Service planner and has spent 20 years fighting forest fires.
"It's like being an astronaut's wife," she said.
"Every time he leaves on a fire, I'm sleepless. Before he goes I tell him, `Please don't die out there. If you die, I won't forgive you.'"
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