Forest Firefighter
Tiny Northern Town, ON
Male, 25
I have worked as a seasonal forest firefighter in the northern regions of Ontario, Canada for the past eight summers. The job is great for university students because it allows you to work the four month Summer break, it offers a solid challenge mentally and physically, and pays well. I have had many life-changing experiences working three week shifts in the woods, often 14 - 16 hours a day. We work mostly out of helicopters and in conjunction with water bombers.
This depends upon the region in question, especially the population density and the type of forest. In Ontario, I have heard that as many as 50% of all forest fires are caused by humans as opposed to lightning. The number of human caused fires spikes during the spring when dead grass is easily ignited by freight trains and intentional lawn burners. There are also certain isolated communities where presumably bored children routinely ignite grass fires with the hopes of seeing a helicopter land or a waterbomber drop. It also spikes in August when blueberry pickers in the Sudbury and North Bay districts cause many small bush fires either to ward off bugs as smudge fires or to enjoy a hot lunch without properly extinguishing the fires afterwards. There are also frequent "shore lunch fires" where fishermen have not properly drowned their lunch-time campfires. These human fires are especially frequent with dry weather and high winds. However, in the Northwest region humans probably cause closer to 10% of fires due to the low population density and the vast swathes of uninhabited forests that burn when lightning strikes after a drought.
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No, as far as I know there is very little similarity between the tactical evacuation and suppression of skyscraper fires and the evacuation of a sub-division or extinction of a forest fire. We do analyze tragedies that have occurred within the forest fire industry and take the lessons learned very seriously. Of course, there are lessons to be learned from any tragedy, and generally they involve the importance of strong communications, maintaining escape routes, keeping lookouts, and knowing your safety zones in case of evacuation.
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