In April 2017, the Sawmill Fire burned nearly 50,000 acres over an 11 day period. This major fire swept from west to east and affected parts of Pima County, Coronado National Forest, and the Las Cienegas Conservation Area. “Once the fire began, we made an initial attack plan. But due to high winds, the fire quickly grew and we transitioned to a Type-II and ultimately a Type-I fire,” said Heidi Schewel who is the public affairs officer for the Coronado National Forest. “That designation allowed us to order more crews and resources to attack the fire.” At its peak, 799 firefighting and support personnel were involved in fighting the Sawmill Fire.
Multiple aircraft were also involved with fighting the Sawmill. “Approximately 377,691 gallons of fire retardant was air dropped along with 60,188 gallons of water,” according to Heidi. The water and retardant assisted with cooling conditions on the ground to help with the construction of fire lines near the incident.
The Type-I fire designation is the highest level of support for a fire attack plan. Since full suppression of the fire was ordered, there was a complete package of support that arrived on scene within days. “The Type-1 fire designation brought in organized teams of people that handle everything from finances, safety, logistics, a full support staff and leadership at all levels to improve coordination,” said Heidi. All of the support personnel are there to ultimately help the firefighting efforts. “During each operational period consisting of a day and a night shift, an incident action plan was developed. The Sawmill Fire was divided up into divisions. Each division in the Sawmill Fire was assigned a supervisor who managed their assigned firefighting assets,” Heidi added. The division supervisor worked their crews attempting to accomplish every objective on the daily plan derived from the incident action plan. At the end of each shift, the division supervisors met in order to formulate the new action plan for the oncoming shift. This cycle repeated itself until the fire was defeated.
The core personnel of any major firefighting effort are the prestigious interagency hotshot crews. Better known as simply ‘hotshots,’ these personnel take the fight directly to the fire on the ground and in the most challenging of conditions. Operating at altitudes of 5,000-7,000 feet above sea level, the hotshots fought the Sawmill as it burned to the east over the Santa Rita Mountain Range.
Physical excellence is demanded of each hotshot crew member. Team members are tested annually and are expected to perform to the minimum standards: 1.5 mile run in 10:35 or less, 40 sit-ups and 25 push-ups in 1 minute, and a series of 5-7 chin-ups, based on weight. These are the minimum standards, and the crews are expected to exceed the standards.
When not fighting fires, the teams will spend 2 hours per day exercising. Typically, they will participate in a long or medium run followed by an exercise regimen developed by US Navy Seals. The work conditions these brave teams of people operate in demand the very highest levels of physical fitness.
