Firefighters put their lives on the line

The summer population of Camp Sherman swelled in recent weeks, but it wasn't due to tourism. Seven hundred firefighters and an additional two hundred support personnel made camp near the Metolius River to battle the Bald Peter fire on the Warm Springs Reservation.

Virgina Gibbons of the U.S. Forest Service explained, "We were doing a 100 percent mop-up effort. It had to be thorough because there was a lot of fuel that could hold heat and start a fire down line. The Tribes asked us to do this."

The work is hard, dirty and dangerous.

"There were a lot of standing dead trees, and these are more dangerous," Gibbons said. "Those fire fighters did a great job. It's tedious, dirty, tiresome work.

"We had 25 crews that were working. About 15 of those were Type 1 Hot Shot crews, and the rest were Type 2 contract crews."

The Hot Shots are the shock troops of the firefighting cadre.

"A Hot Shot crew is roughly 20 highly trained firefighters who work on the front line of the blaze," Gibbons said. "Because they are the most highly trained, they get exposed to the most dangerous scenarios. If you need to stop a fire, you put a Hot Shot crew on it to attack it.

"Type 2 crews come in behind the Hot Shots and mop up."

There were plenty of resources available to fight this fire, which burned a mere dozen miles from Camp Sherman.

"We were lucky with the Bald Peter fire because we had the luxury of being able to have a lot of crews to help out --there were no other major fires going on at the same time," Gibbons noted.

Gibbons took advantage of the camaraderie that takes place at a fire camp when people work hard together and put their lives on the line.

She was responsible for putting together a memorial service in Camp Sherman to honor the four firefighters who were killed earlier in July in the line of duty at the Thirty Mile Fire, near Winthrop, Washington.

Tom Craven, 30, of Ellensburg, Washington; Karen Fitzpatrick, 18; Devin Weaver, 21; Jessica Johnson, 19 -- all from Yakima, Washington -- died tragically in the firestorm of a narrow canyon along the Chewuck River on July 10.

Sonny O'Neal, the Forest Service Supervisor of the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests remarked, "This is a great tragedy and loss that is felt by all firefighters and agency employees everywhere.

"Firefighters are a family and any time a firefighter is killed, grief is felt by all. This country owes a debt of gratitude and respect to these brave firefighters who gave their lives to protect their fellow citizens, communities, and natural resources."

The larger service was held at the Sun Dome in Yakima, but Gibbons felt that the crews fighting the Bald Peter fire needed the opportunity to stop and remember.

With little fanfare or advance notice, a memorial service was held at the Camp Sherman fire camp on July 24 at 6:30 a. m.

Ed Beacham, a chaplain for Sisters/Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District, officiated at the service.

"The memorial service was the appropriate thing to do," Gibbons noted. "Attendance was not mandatory, it was early in the morning, and I thought maybe 20 people would show up.

"Instead, about 200 were there," she said. "And Ed Beacham really stepped up to the plate. I got in touch with him the day before at 4:30 p.m., and he did it the next morning.

"What he had to say was so meaningful. It was the right blend of recognition, honor, and respect."

Musicians played "Amazing Grace" on the violin and bagpipes as part of the service.

"It was very moving," Gibbons said.

Beacham told the firefighters, "What we do is dangerous business. But King Solomon wrote that it was better to go to a funeral than a party. The first time I read that, I thought he was a sadistic dude, but he was right on. Funerals add value to our lives. They give us perspective and help us to focus in on the important things in life, to give us purpose.

"We really don't get that from a party."

Beacham continued "...Hebrews 12:1-2 says, 'Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God'...Tom Craven, Karen Fitzpatrick, Devin Weaver, Jessica Johnson. We salute you for your love and sacrifice."

Beacham was modest in his appraisal of the event.

"It was a solid mass of young people coming out of their tents to attend," he said. "It was a wonderful honor to be there and to be with them. They are the cream of the crop.

"They look out for each other -- they're a family."