Reflections on willdland firefighting following the Slide Fire (AZ)

I realize that I'm a little late in this, but I have spent some time thinking about the Slide Fire, which burned over 21,000 acres in and around Oak Creek Canyon in Arizona. The fire is now 100 percent contained. Perhaps you have read Bill Gabbert's coverage of the Slide Creek Fire on Wildfire Today and/or followed the Wildland Fire Hotlist thread on the fire or perhaps you followed the fire on the media outlets local to the area. Examples of local and national media coverage of the Slide Fire include:

Yahoo News (AP) on May 22
CNN on May 24, with pictures
MYFoxPhoenix (May 22, with video of damage)
WAFB (posted May 20, updated June 4, pictures and raw video)

Finally, you might also want to check out Bill Gabbert's coverage of the discovery of an historic site by wildland firefighters working the Slide Fire.

Perhaps this particular fire touched home to me because I visited Oak Creek Canyon twenty years ago now, spending half a day there with one of my buddies while we attended a conference in Tempe, Arizona. Now spending what may only amount to a couple of hours in Oak Creek Canyon and another couple of hours in Sedona hardly makes me an expert in the geography of the region. However, my visit left an impression on me. So when I first heard about the Slide Fire, I found myself remembering the Canyon that I visited, albeit briefly, twenty years ago.

To tie this into wildland firefighting, I thought about the wildland firefighting crews, both in the air and on the ground who worked the Slide Fire. I had a picture in my mind, which may or may not have been correct, of ground crews working the fire in the Canyon I had visited all those years ago. My buddy and I may even have driven the local road mentioned in the reports. Various engine crews, and ground crews. Over four hundred firefighters on the ground working the fire in steep terrain doing what you do best, fighting wildfires. I don't have to seen videos or to be on scene to know of the hard work that you did.

I know that there were various aerial resources working the fire, helicopters and tankers. But I have no details. Doesn't matter. You were there working to support the crews on the ground. A team effort, crews on the ground and in the air.

I appreciate all that you did on the Slide Fire. You won't be forgotten. I appreciate all the work that wildland firefighters do in America and globally. Thank-you.