Benny "Brogans" Henry [13]
I was born in Ohio, I currently enjoy fighting forest fires, and hope to get a career going in this field. I also enjoy spending time outdoors hiking and have recently started getting back into climbing and have an interest in surfing though I am not very good at either of those activities.
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Our First Fires! [16]
The Hell Canyon District has assigned us as a chase for an engine, and we're starting to get on fires. We have five to count with two of them on our first day out on fires. We had the Argyle Loop fire on July 12, followed by the Carrol Creek Fire. On that Friday then we came in and responded to the Aspen Valley fire. Then the next week we went out to the Switchback Draw fire, where we got pulled out of and responded as initial attack to the Myrtle Fire. So we've been busy, but the team is excited to finally be getting out and doing what we've been training to do. We are pumped that our paperwork to go on fires is finally done and that we are out there scratching the earth with our pulaski's and rogues.
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Project Work [23]
As Wildland Fire Fighters a main part of the job is fuels mitigation to reduce the abitlity for fire to spread rapidly through the wilderness. We have worked dozens of hours on a cutting unit outside of custer. Durring this work we have worked along side our partner agency and have gained a lot of chain sawing experience.
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Yay, for RED CARDS! July 9th 2012 [27]
Greetings from the field! This past week has been busy. Monday started out with us collecting new fuel samples, due to the fact that the ones we collected last weekend were no good because the power cut out while they were doing the studies. We did our first PT hike with the Forest Service, prepared vehicles to go out of state to respond the fires in Colorado, and completed a new certification for cross cut training so that we can operate in the wilderness. On top of all this crew members opted to learn more and attended voluntary training involving med flight, and learning about the aerial assets we have available to us on the fire line. Moral is high as ever due to the fact that today we finally received our Red Cards, and got clear hot to work as Administratively Determined Personal on the fire line by our partnering agency. We helped with logistics on the Parkers Peak fire by running supplies to the command center as needed, and then we completed classes needed for us to open our FFT1 (Fire Fighter Type 1) task books. The next day we got to work see the results of another fire and discuss with experienced engine captains who responded to the fire about the results and complications of fighting wildfire in an urban interface. It was a sobering moment for us all looking at the charred remains of what was once three different families houses, but it made us realize that we are indeed partnered with an organization that is training us to do valuable and needed work.
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"MAD" MAX POPP [31]
I reign from badgerdom, aka Wisconsin and yes i love brats, beer, and cheese. As a young child I loved to roam the hard wood wilderness in Wisconsin and walk the beaches of Lake Michigan. I believe this is where I aquired my love of the outdoors. I entered military service at the young age of 17 where I was a water purification specialist and spent my days supplying precious water to the combat troops stationed around the world. I became known as the real life water boy like in the Adam Sandler movie. I am currently pursuing a degree in interpritave dancing with a minor in pottery. I hope to gain a massive amount of experience in wildland fire to put a intreging twist on my dancing career.
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Getting Started [34]
We hit the ground running in may and completed our corps member training along with a guard school put on by the U.S Forrest Service at Medicine Mountain Boyscout camp outside of Custer, SD. We have also completed our S212 (Chainsaw ceritifications) with the Mystic Ranger District Fire Dept. Now we have be following the guidance of our own Hell Canyon Ranger District Fire Dept. We have been helping with their chainsaws, station maintenance, and work on their fire engines. We look forward to working with them all summer. We have settlede into our home on Camp Rapid in Rapid City and are very happy here.
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Tim Gurnett VFC Black Hills Team Two Project Leader [39]
My name is Tim Gurnett and I am the project leader for the Black Hills Veteran’s Fire Corps (Team two). I was a corps member in the VFC last season and I really enjoyed it. I have served with the SCA two times before as a CI and on the VFC. I am very excited to be back this season as a project leader. I am a senior at the University of Nebraska and my Majors are Environmental Studies and Criminal Justice. I served for 5 years in the U.S. Navy as a military policeman and I look forward to helping recently separated vets gain meaningful employment in the land management field. There are a lot of exciting things lined up for the VFC this summer and I can't wait to get started.
Timothy Gurnett
SCA- Veterans Fire Corps
Project Leader (Team Two)
Black Hills South Dakota
Cell: 208-631-7670
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