Kelley Whitelens hiked a steep hill toward the backyard of a home on Coyote Road in Santa Barbara, one hand wiping the sweat from her face, the other pulling up her sagging pants.
Whitelens is the only female firefighter in a 19-person team from South Dakota fighting the fierce Thomas fire across Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, California’s largest wildfire on record.
It’s unclear how many female firefighters are on the front lines, but with more than 8,000 firefighters battling the blaze at its peak, many are women who face the same challenges as their male colleagues and one major addition — navigating the heat and treacherous terrain in gear made for men.