Inkom firefighters have stepped up to help battle record-setting wildfires across the West after available wildland firefighting resources got stretched thin.
Inkom Fire Department spokesman Dean Hazen said a total of five firefighters joined the Northern Nevada Strike Team of Elko, Nevada, in the last week of July and stayed with them until they were disbanded in mid-September.
During that stretch, the strike team battled a number of wildfires in northern Nevada from near Wendover in the east to north of Pyramid Lake in the west, Hazen said.
The final response for the Strike Team was the Slink Fire south of Lake Tahoe in eastern California.
Northern Nevada Task Force leader Jim Farrell said the firefighters from Idaho were great to to work with and very professional, the news release said.
”I would like to see if we can get the crew from Inkom to join our task force again for next year’s fire season,” Farrell said.
Hazen said the firefighters fall under the purview of the Idaho Department of Lands.
So they’ll see what resources are needed and let fire departments that have the ability to fight wildfires know what fires are out there, Hazen said.
Most of the worst-hit areas this fire season are in northern Nevada, California, Washington and Oregon, he said.
The normal stay once the Inkom firefighters get to the site is two weeks, he said. But this year is different.
“This year they’ve allowed people to extend that stay another week,” Hazen said.
In fact the first crew that Inkom sent to help fight those fires was gone for three weeks. The second crew was gone for two weeks and the third crew was out for two weeks for a total of seven weeks, according to Hazen.
Currently there are still Inkom firefighters helping fight the massive wildfires in California.
“So we have two people out there now on the North Complex Fire,” Hazen said Wednesday.
He says the Inkom firefighters are required to have the full training and meet all requirements to battle wildfires.
“So we’re fully qualified to do that,” he said.
And the firefighters do get paid depending on their qualifications. Most firefighters receive about $16 an hour when fighting a fire. And that can go higher if they need to work overtime or have needed qualifications.
But that’s not why they do it.
“None of us are really in it for the money,” Hazen said. “We’re not in it for that.”
Days typically run 12 to 16 hours while fighting fires in the field.
He said roles for the Inkom firefighters include helping fill up other brush trucks that need water, helping secure fire lines and wetting down fire lines.
They also help with rehabilitation.
For instance, they once helped rehabilitate a road in California. Other times they might help spray down helicopter landing pads.
That helps keep down the dust so it doesn’t fly everywhere when a helicopter lands and takes off, which can otherwise cause problems.
“They definitely need the help,” Hazen said.
Hazen says the department’s firefighters are happy to lend a hand wherever they can.
“We’re pretty excited to be able to do it,” Hazen said. “So it helps with the fire and it also helps us gain experience.”
He says it also allows the department to build its resources and capabilities.
The more involved the department is in firefighting, the easier it is to get grant funds and receive excess equipment when it becomes available, he said.
A couple of their trucks are excess military vehicles.
And the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service generally make their vehicles available once they’ve outlived their usefulness to the agencies.
Hazen says fire equipment is costly so all their trucks and equipment are typically acquired through grants or matching money or donations. Most in fact come from the Bureau of Land Management.
“We have to apply for them and compete with other fire departments to get those vehicles,” Hazen said.
For instance they’ve received two brush trucks that they otherwise would not have been able to buy.
Meanwhile, he says that if someone wants to join the fire department, which currently has 30 members, they can just call the city of Inkom at 208-775-3372.
“There’s a process we go through,” he said.
The applicant has to fill out an employment form and be accepted by Inkom Fire Chief Johnny Ketner and the Inkom City Council.
Meanwhile, Ketner praises the Inkom firefighters for their willingness to sacrifice their time at home with family to help fight large wildfires in the region.
”I’m grateful for the dedication of the firefighters we have here in Inkom and that they are recognized as professional and well-trained by their supervisors on these deployments,” Ketner said.