LOCALadk Magazine
Issue link: https://localadkmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1508038
LOCALadk 23 As a new Forest Ranger, I didn't think I would go on a big wildfire assignment for a few years. But only four months into the job, I decided I should do the pack test anyways. The pack test is a physical test where you must carry a 45-pound pack and walk three miles in 45 minutes. It's required to go on a fire assignment out west, or in my case, north. It would only be two months after passing the pack test that I would get an offer to go fight wildfires in northern Quebec. Having just experienced two days of thick, smokey haze covering the Adirondacks, I didn't hesitate to say yes. Fire assignments are typically two weeks and this one was no different. We had two days to pack clothes, gear, and camping supplies. Our crew was made up of seven New York State Forest Rangers, two people from Maine, two from Vermont, and three from New Hampshire. We met at the New York-Canada border at Rouses Point and headed north. Our destination was Maniwaki where we would receive an intro briefing from SOPFEU, the Quebec wildland fire agency, in addition to helicopter safety training. The next day we were off again head- ing north, soon leaving paved roads for never-ending dusty, wash-boarded logging roads cutting through the vastness of the boreal forest. Our remote lodging was an outfitter, which is similar to a bed and break- fast. We would stay and eat there for the duration of the trip, using it as a home base. After dropping off our gear and completing a quick portable pump review, we were off to Fire 360. This was about 600 acres in size. Like many of the fires, Fire 360 was caused by a lightning strike. Our four- teen-person crew was the only crew to be assigned to the fire, ten days after it started. When we arrived, the air had a thick wood smoke smell, and charred trees resembling black toothpicks were everywhere. Fire 360 had burned 600 acres, but due to the wind, the north side had the most fire ac- tivity. Thick forests of black spruce and jack pine trees with a dense layer of moss and shrubs underneath de- fined the terrain. Cleared-out fields covered in shrubs, stumps, and slash piles from recent logging activity dotted this landscape. Fighting Fires in Quebec By NY Forest Ranger Matthew Adams