He doesn t remember all the trees he s seen explode in flames or the mountainsides he s chopped at with a Pulaski tool in search of sparks. There s been too many fires to count, he said. I lost track after about the first five years. I used to write the fire names on my helmet, then I filled so many helmets with names on them. Although firefighters speak fondly of the camaraderie and the joys of working together in the woods, the real draw is the pay.
Pay begins accruing the minute firefighters sign a contract to join a crew.
A firefighter can earn an enormous amount of hours when they re on the line, said Not Afraid, who had worked as a firefighter before getting a job with the Crow Tribe. Wet years are tough on the tribes, said Andrea Gilham, a forester and fire manager for the Blackfeet. In 1997, for example, a call went out for fire crews to fight a fire. Only two crews with 20 people each were needed. It was sad, she said.