The Bear Lake Fire command center is basically a tent city with a population of about 250 men and women. But it’s a highly organized camp that is working together to stop 6,300 acre wild fire burning just southwest of the camp.
“It’s a team concept. Every different sectional function here helps one another to be able to support the fire and resources at the fire,” said Incident Commander Kyle Smith.
The camp is located in the airfield at Wise River and operates like a tiny city with dining area, showers, laundry facilities and a command center to plan the daily firefighting activities. The Southern Area Gold Team arrived over a week ago and quickly set up this camp.
“Nothing else was here and in two days, less than two days, we had this whole camp up and running,” Smith said.
When not working, the personnel rest in these small pop tents.
“This is home; just sleeping bags, a pillow and I stop when we landed in the airport and grabbed me an air mattress to help with cushioning on the ground a little bit,” said Gold Team member Kevin Wagner.
Days are busy and team is expected to continue living at this camp for another week or more.
“Not homesick too much, yeah, you kind a miss a little bit about missing your kid’s ballgames and things going on at home, but we’ve got a job to do and they understand it and it’s good to have a family that’s supportive,” Wagner said.
The community has been very supportive of the fire team and firefighters are very appreciative of the support they’ve received.