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• Today, I cover all the wildfire activity across the nation and updates on incidents happening on wildfires. The PNW and California remain the hotspots, with lingering fires in Montana and Idaho.

• There was a dozer rollover in Washington, an engine rollover in California, and an update on the tree strike involving a hotshot crew in Oregon.

• A story about ingenuity and fast thinking on a wildfire when the unexpected happens.

• A Canadian wildland firefighter’s take on not only what it’s like to fight fire as a career with a family, but also making the hard decision to move up or move on.

• A conversation about life and perspective.

THE HOTSHOT WAKE UP — Thank you to all of our paid subscribers. Your support allows us to donate generously to firefighter charities and supports all of our content. You also receive all of our article archives, more podcast episodes, Monday morning workouts, and also entered into our giveaways, plus more.

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The question on the minds of many agency leaders and supervisors is how to build and train the new generation of wildland firefighters. Well, that’s just what firefighter and teacher Bryan Kerns is doing with his wildfire program, earning him the 2025 Tennessee teacher of the year.

Bryan Kerns is the Fire Science teacher at Dobyns-Bennett High School in Kingsport, TN. Bryan has been in wildland fire since 2003 and brought his wildland fire experience into the classroom in 2019. What started as an after school club known as The Pulaski Club in 2019 has now grown into a full progression of Fire Science courses, complete with one of the nation's, if not the only, high school Prescribed Burn Team. Bryan has over 30 young men and women from his program now working in wildfire and EMS.

Bryan will travel to D.C. soon to discuss expanding this program nationwide.

Contact: [email protected]

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OroraTech is a wildfire technology company that provides satellite detection, monitoring, fire spread modeling, and post-fire recovery data for wildfire managers. They recently signed a deal with the State of Idaho to provide these services statewide.

CEO Martin Langer joins the show from Munich, Germany, to discuss their technology in the wildfire world and more. We explore the company's genesis, starting as a university project that has drastically expanded, a conversation about how the tech works, the process of getting satellites into space, venture capital in wildfire, and more.

We also discuss the future of wildfire tech, including its potential for success and areas where it may fail. A conversation with great insight into this part of the industry.

THE HOTSHOT WAKE UP — Thank you to all of our paid subscribers. Your support allows us to donate generously to firefighter charities and supports all of our content. You also receive all of our article archives, more podcast episodes, Monday morning workouts, and also entered into our giveaways, plus more.

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Today, I welcome the Fire Chief of the Angeles National Forest, Robert Garcia. Chief Garcia started his career as a seasonal firefighter, moved to working on Hotshot crews, became the Superintendent of Little Tujunga Hotshots, and rose to the position of Fire Chief.

The Angeles National Forest is home to five Hotshot Crews, helitack crews, engines, and more. Today, we discuss his career, the importance of supporting the workforce amid changing times, the crucial subject of wildfire culture of all wildfire resources, and what that looks like moving towards a National Wildfire Service.

We also dive into the challenges seen in the California wildfire environment. Prescribed fire, fuels work, working with state and local partners, and more. An incredible conversation.

THE HOTSHOT WAKE UP — Thank you to all of our paid subscribers. Your support allows us to donate generously to firefighter charities and supports all of our content. You also receive all of our article archives, more podcast episodes, Monday morning workouts, and also entered into our giveaways, plus more.

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Today, I welcome Fire Captain Robert Sepulveda Jr. to discuss the world of REMS. Robert is a Captain for Pasadena Fire and joined the FIRESCOPE Technical Search and Rescue Specialist Group in 2020 and is Chair of the Rapid Extraction Module Support Subcommittee.

Robert is certified as a Regional Task Force Leader, Technical Search Specialist, Search Manager, Rescue Manager, Assistant Safety Officer, Swift Water Rescue Technician, and Tool and Equipment Specialist. He helped develop the new NWCG qualification requirements for REMS Teams and is the Coordinator for the Urban Search and Rescue Regional Task Force 4.

We discuss everything REMS-related, the development of the PMS 552 form, concerns folks have, including the new NWCG requirements, as well as where REMS is going in the future.

THE HOTSHOT WAKE UP — Thank you to all of our paid subscribers. Your support allows us to donate generously to firefighter charities and supports all of our content. You also receive all of our article archives, more podcast episodes, Monday morning workouts, and also entered into our giveaways, plus more.

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Today, I’m joined by Gabriel Mann, Director of Hotshot, to discuss the new allegations brought by a lawsuit in California yesterday regarding the events surrounding the Palisades Fire.

These new allegations point the finger at the State of California and the water utility for their role in the Palisades Fire disaster. The lawsuit alleges that utility lines were not actually deenergized as initially claimed, possible attempts to alter records after the fact, neglect of the reservoir, attempts to save face while the fire was burning, infrastructure improvements stopped due to environmental concerns, as well as mismanagement of State lands around the community.

This development has massive repercussions, as the total financial cost of this fire has been estimated at over $100 billion.

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Six months ago, the Palisades and Eaton Fires rolled across communities in southern California, and the official cause of the Palisades Fire is yet to be confirmed. Work by the Washington Post and others suggests that the Lachman Fire may have rekindled, which began on New Year's Eve from fireworks in the same area.

Brianna Sacks, a disaster reporter for The Washington Post, had to help her father evacuate from the Pacific Palisades the day the fire rolled through that community. We discuss what it was like on the day of the fire, the potential cause, the struggles to rebuild, and the overall sense of the community afterwards.

Since then, she and others have worked to pinpoint the cause of that fire, which remains officially undetermined. The Washington Post points to the Lachman Fire, a smaller fire that started days before the Palisades Fire became a massive urban conflagration.

We cover all of this and much more.

THE HOTSHOT WAKE UP — Thank you to all of our paid subscribers. Your support allows us to donate generously to firefighter charities and supports all of our content. You also receive all of our article archives, more podcast episodes, Monday morning workouts, and also entered into our giveaways, plus more.

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Today, I welcome San Bernardino County Fire Chief Dan Munsey to discuss what he believes are the four biggest lies in the wildfire industry, and what the actual truths are behind those lies.

The Four Lies the Chief Addresses:

1. There is a large wildfire crisis. (Truth: We have a land management crisis.)

2. There is a fire insurance crisis. (Truth: We have a crisis of homes burning down.)

3. The Palisades and Eaton Fires were very destructive “wildfires.” (Truth: These were urban conflagrations with a small wildfire component.)

4. There is a wildfire technology crisis. (Truth: There is a wildfire technology adoption crisis.)

We then discuss the leadership of the new wildfire agency, the reality of moving forward with it, and I ask him if California can realistically achieve success with its wildfire land management under the new “Make America Rake Again” campaign.

Chief Munsey oversees the largest fire protection district in the Nation, spanning almost 20,000 square miles and serving a population of nearly two million. The Chief has testified before Congress multiple times, advocating for better wages, improved technology adoption, and the maintenance of trails and forest roads to help wildland firefighters access wildfires.

In addition to Chief Munsey’s service to San Bernardino County, he is a past chair of the California Fire Chiefs Association Operations Section and has served since 2019 as the chair of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Technology Council. He is a director on the FIRESCOPE board of directors, the vice-president of the California Metro Fire Chiefs Association, and the vice-president of the San Bernardino County Fire Chief’s Association.

Chief Munsey believes strongly in collaboration with allied stakeholders that results in synergy to achieve better public safety outcomes. Of particular interest is emerging technologies and the efficiencies it brings to public safety.

THE HOTSHOT WAKE UP — Thank you to all of our paid subscribers. Your support allows us to donate generously to firefighter charities and supports all of our content. You also receive all of our article archives, more podcast episodes, Monday morning workouts, and also entered into our giveaways, plus more.

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• 20-year-old Wess Roley has been named as the shooter in the Idaho Wildfire ambush that took place yesterday in Hayden, Idaho.

• New details have emerged about the suspect, which I cover.

• He allegedly has a past criminal record and mental health issues.

• Today, we remember the Granite Mountain Hotshots and the Yarnell Fire. I give my thoughts about being on a wildfire when this news was announced to our crew.

• Full operational update.

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Idaho Wildfire Shooting Update: To support and subscribe: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/

• The press conference has just finished, with new details on the incident.

• Two firefighter deaths were confirmed by the local sheriff, FBI en route, and SWAT on scene.

• Law enforcement says they are still actively taking fire from an unknown number of “well-prepared suspects.”

• The sheriff and firefighters responding called it an “intentional fire and ambush.”

• I cover the initial call and radio traffic leading up to the shooting.

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THE HOTSHOT WAKE UP — Thank you to all of our paid subscribers. Your support allows us to donate generously to firefighter charities and supports all of our content. You also receive all of our article archives, more podcast episodes, Monday morning workouts, and also entered into our giveaways, plus more.