Imagine trudging up a mountain carrying heavy gear or trying to navigate a bulldozer on a steep mountain side through the trees.
Now picture doing those things with a wildfire burning right next you.
“For a lot of us it’s just a normal day job,” said Jeremy Erickson. Erickson is the Assistant Fire Management Officer at Blackwell Job Corps.
He’s also one of the 10 wildland firefighters that make up the new Badger State Wildland Fire Module.
“We just want to provide that specialized expertise and experience and qualifications to a lot of these emerging incidents that are occurring out west,” said Erickson. “We just want to provide that specialized expertise and experience and qualifications to a lot of these emerging incidents that are occurring out west,” said Erickson.
The crew is made up of Wisconsin wildland firefighters from the Chequamegon Nicolet National Forest, Blackwell Job Corps Center and U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.