Life with Fire

By Amanda MontheiSociety & Culture Documentary Science History Nature

Life with Fire episodes

June 02, 2021 Wildfire Perceptions and Misconceptions with Crystal Kolden
In this episode, we spoke with wildfire research extraordinaire Crystal Kolden, who is an assistant professor at UC-Merced. Crystal has a breadth of interests and areas of expertise, and is probably one of our favorite follows on "Wildfire" Twitter. We discussed her humanities background and what led her to an interest in wildfire, the wildfire misconceptions that most irk her and how we can better talk about wildfire impacts and wildfire topics in general.
For more information on Crystal and her research, check out her Twitter @pyrogeog or her website, www.pyrogeographer.com.
Life with Fire Podcast can be found on Twitter at @lifewithfirepod or on Instagram at @lifewithfirepod. To support Life with Fire Podcast, check out our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/lifewithfirepod.
52 min
May 14, 2021 Is Suppressing Wildfire Actually More Of A Liability Than Prescribed Burning? With Will Harling
In this episode we spoke with Will Harling about his work with the Mid-Klamath Watershed Council, as well as his experiences of growing up in Northern California on the banks of the Salmon and Klamath Rivers. Will had some fantastic insights on how prescribed fires are burdened with immense liability, restrictions and permitting, while wildfires are not treated the same—despite that modern wildfires are more severe because of human behaviors like full suppression firefighting and climate change. Will argues that modern wildfires are no longer an act of God, and that things like managing wildfires for prescriptive purposes could be a good step towards meeting forest management objectives.
For more information on the Mid-Klamath Watershed Council—which Will is the executive director of—check out their website: http://www.mkwc.org/
30 min
April 28, 2021 Exploitation, Transformation and the Paradox of Incarcerated Firefighting with Dr. Lindsey Feldman
In this episode, we speak with anthropologist Dr. Lindsey Raisa Feldman about her research on incarcerated fire crews in Arizona. Lindsey actually worked on the ground with these crews—and despite her assertion that she wasn't a very good firefighter, she did come away with some important insights about the nature of incarcerated firefighting, as well as a few profound experiences of her own.
Lindsey's work can be found on her website: https://www.lindseyraisa.com/
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56 min
January 27, 2021 Off-Season Struggles: Understanding Wildland Firefighter Mental Health
Wildland firefighters are disproportionately affected by depression, anxiety, PTSD, suicide and other mental health struggles. There are a number of reasons for this, but the biggest are quite simple: wildland firefighting is a high-stress job that takes firefighters away from their families for months at a time and often doesn't come with appropriate pay or benefits given the sacrifices that these folks make every summer. With that lack of benefits comes a severe lack of mental health resources and care for laid-off firefighters, resulting in something of a mental health epidemic for a seasonal workforce that grows more essential—and more exhausted—by the year. This episode dives into what these struggles look like from the perspective of currently laid-off seasonal firefighters, who each spoke about their individual challenges with mental health and wellness.
Firefighters included in this episode: Ben McLane (hotshot), Coleman Wilson (handcrew member), Gabby Casper (rappeller), Eddie Klemencic (hotshot), Kat Sullivan (hotshot) and Livi Hughes (British Columbia Fire Service crewmember).
As promised in the episode, here are a few resources for wildland firefighters who are struggling with mental health challenges this off-season:
1. Wildland Firefighter Foundation—https://wffoundation.org/resources/reference/. This organization provides emotional and financial support and assistance for wildland firefighters injured on the line, and also facilitates mental health support. The website above is a landing page for a variety of other mental health resources for firefighters.
2. Your crew! Call up your crewmembers from last summer and check in on them. It's nice to talk to people who know the business and who understand what you're going through on a more personal level.
3. Wildland Firefighter Guardian Institute—https://www.wfgi.org/mental-health-resources. This organization covers mental health resources (including therapy and counseling!) at no cost to wildland firefighters.
4. Online therapy—lots of options, but https://www.betterhelp.com/ is a highly recommended (and decently affordable) one.
5. For military veterans: You local VA Center (not hospital) can provide mental health treatment. More info here: https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/index.asp?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=search-va&utm_content=help&utm_term=%2Bva%20%2Bmedical%20%2Bcenter&gclid=CjwKCAiAu8SABhAxEiwAsodSZB0WyjZJ0hF_ErGbqzG6rQfqtVCNih-LBcsXe2tGcYTOLTbIWdY2KBoCqs8QAvD_BwE

40 min
November 17, 2020 From Incarcerated Firefighter to Full-Time Hotshot with Mando Perez
Mando Perez spent around six years fighting fire while incarcerated as a young man. Upon his release in 2010, he began the arduous transition into a position with a federal firefighting agency, and now works as a senior firefighter for the El Dorado Hotshots. In this episode, he shares his experiences of working on an inmate fire crew and details how he transitioned to a full-time fire career after his release. He also talks about why he continues to pursue fire as a career, what he loves about the job, and offers some suggestions for people who may be on a path similar to his.
Follow the link below to watch the Vice News short documentary on the El Dorado Hotshots (which I mentioned in this episode): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6T9R-cjXc0&t=312s
To learn more about California Assembly Bill 2147—which allows formerly incarcerated firefighters to have their records expunged in order to gain employment more easily after their release—check out this piece in Politico from September: https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/09/11/california-clears-way-for-inmate-firefighters-to-enter-profession-upon-release-9424131.
Finally, here are a few resources for anyone interested in getting a job as a wildland firefighter, regardless of their background:
The Wildland Fire Apprenticeship Program: https://www.nafri.gov/wfap/
The Rio Hondo Fire Academy (which Mando attended and mentions in this episode): https://www.riohondofire.com/wildland-fire-academy
The California Conservation Corps—this is a particularly good choice for college-aged people who have an interest in fire, trail work or other federal natural resource jobs: https://ccc.ca.gov/
Youth Conservation Corps—this program is for high schoolers who have an interest in natural resources work in general: https://www.fs.usda.gov/working-with-us/opportunities-for-young-people/youth-conservation-corps-opportunities
1 hr 3 min
November 16, 2020 From Incarcerated Firefighter to Full-Time Hotshot with Mando Perez
Mando Perez spent around six years fighting fire while incarcerated as a young man. Upon his release in 2010, he began the arduous transition into a position with a federal firefighting agency, and now works as a senior firefighter for the El Dorado Hotshots. In this episode, he shares his experiences of working on an inmate fire crew and details how he transitioned to a full-time fire career after his release. He also talks about why he continues to pursue fire as a career, what he loves about the job, and offers some suggestions for people who may be on a path similar to his.
To learn more about California Assembly Bill 2147—which allows formerly incarcerated firefighters to have their records expunged in order to gain employment more easily after their release—check out this piece in Politico from September: https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/09/11/california-clears-way-for-inmate-firefighters-to-enter-profession-upon-release-9424131.
Finally, here are a few resources for anyone interested in getting a job as a wildland firefighter, regardless of their background:
The Wildland Fire Apprenticeship Program: https://www.nafri.gov/wfap/
The Rio Hondo Fire Academy (which Mando attended and mentions in this episode): https://www.riohondofire.com/wildland-fire-academy
The California Conservation Corps—this is a particularly good choice for college-aged people who have an interest in fire, trail work or other federal natural resource jobs: https://ccc.ca.gov/
Youth Conservation Corps—this program is for high schoolers who have an interest in natural resources work in general: https://www.fs.usda.gov/working-with-us/opportunities-for-young-people/youth-conservation-corps-opportunities
1 hr 2 min
November 09, 2020 Restoring the Land, Restoring the People: Cultural Burning with Margo Robbins
The practice of cultural burning hinges on one critical truth: healthy land means healthy people. Margo Robbins, who is a Yurok tribal member, basket weaver and the executive director of the Cultural Fire Management Council, explains the importance of cultural burning on Yurok tribal lands—located in Northern California— as well as why she has a vested interest in reintegrating cultural burns on her ancestral lands. Listen in to learn more about indigenous burning, the ecological and cultural benefits of fire and how cultural burning has helped renew the art and practice of basket weaving for Margo and other members of the Yurok Tribe.
21 min
October 14, 2020 Building Fire-Resilient Communities with Annie Schmidt
In this episode, we talk to Annie Schmidt, who works for the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network. Through her position at the Fire Adapted network, Annie has committed herself to helping communities build their fire-resiliency and, quite literally, learn to better live with fire. Annie offers some great perspective on how and why fire prevention work should be prioritized just as much as fire suppression, while also providing a few suggestions for other people who want to improve fire resiliency in their communities. One of the most interesting parts of Annie’s work is her commitment to bringing different voices to the table and empowering people with a variety of backgrounds to take greater authority over their land.
You can listen, subscribe or review Living With Fire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts.
29 min
September 28, 2020 Fire Ecology 101, with Dr. Susan Prichard
In this episode, I enlisted the help of Dr. Susan Prichard—who has a PhD in fire ecology—to share a few of the foundational ideas of fire science and how fire is fundamental to the landscapes in the Western US, specifically. She told me a bit about her ongoing research and projects, one of which models how fires would have burned and affected the landscape through the last century if they hadn’t been suppressed. Susan has also done extensive research on (and shared some insights on) how climate change influences fire and whether or not the high-severity fires we're seeing more of lately have any historical precedent in the US.
32 min
September 22, 2020 Why The "Labor Day Firestorm," Was So Historic, with Fire Meteorologist Nick Nauslar
On this episode, guest Nick Nauslar—a fire meteorologist at the National Interagency Fire Center—explains what contributed to the so-called "Labor Day Firestorm," that devastated the Northwest and Northern California on the week of September 6. Nick discussed all the factors that made this conflagration so historic, and also discussed how climate change—which took a lot of the blame in national media—played only a small part in what became one of the worst weeks of fire in US history.
23 min