This is history that has not been told:

As a trained wildland firefighter who knew the history of smokejumpers, I have NEVER heard that the first American smokejumpers were the African American troops of the all-black 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (the Triple Nickles) who, in Operation Firefly, fought the fires caused by Japanese balloon bombs.

#WW2 #WildlandFirefighting #BlackHistory #Smokejumpers

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/05/us/joe-harris-triple-nickle-black-paratroopers/index.html

With the ongoing tragic and deadly wildfires in and around Ruidoso, New Mexico, it seemed useful to identify the locations of those wildfire fighting crews who are among the first (along with smokejumpers) to brave the dangerous conditions and battle the flames – our nation’s elite Hot Shot crews.

“Hotshot crews originated on the Cleveland and Angeles National Forests in Southern California in the late 1940s. They were called “Hotshot” crews because they worked on a wildfires’ hottest areas of wildfires.”

SOURCE: fs.usda.gov

• Red – cities with two bases locations

• Orange – cities with one base location

[Hot Shot crews are] “a team of 20-22 elite wildland firefighters that mainly respond to large, high-priority fires across the country and abroad. They are assigned to work the most challenging parts of the fire and are considered strategic and tactical wildland fire experts.”

Source: en.wikipedia.org

We a huge debt of gratitude to our Hot Shot Crews, the Smokejumpers, and all of those who serve our country by fighting wildfires. They risk their lives to protect us; our communities; as well as our nation’s wildlife, forests, and other natural resources. Peace!

Above is a map and below a list of the Hot Shot crew base locations around the country:

ALASKA

Fort Wainwright (2)

Palmer

ARIZONA

Flagstaff (2)

Globe

Happy Jack

Mesa

Overgaard

Payson

Prescott

San Carlos

Tucson

Whiteriver

CALIFORNIA

Arroyo Grande

Bakersfield

Beckwourth

Berry Creek

Bishop

Caliente

Camino

Camp Rodgers

Camptonville

Canby

Descanso

El Cajon

Fawnskin

Foresthill

Fort Jones

Gasquet

Glendora

Glennville

Groveland

Idyllwild

Kings Canyon

Klamath River

Mad River

Mentone

Miramonte

North Fork

Oakhurst

Platina

Quincy

Ramona

Redding (2)

San Bernardino

San Fernando

Sanger

Santa Barbara

Santa Clarita

Saugus

Salyer

Sonora

South Lake Tahoe

Springville

Stonyford

Susanville (2)

Truckee

Upper Lake

Valyermo

COLORADO

Craig

Durango

Estes Park

Fort Collins

Monument

IDAHO

Garden Valley

Idaho City

Jerome

Pocatello

ILLINOIS

Wilmington

MISSISSIPPI

Flowood

MONTANA

Browning

Darby

Great Falls

Helena

Hungry Horse

Missoula

NEVADA

Carson City (2)

Elko

NEW MEXICO

Cloudcroft

Gallup

Grants

Reserve

Ruidoso

Santa Fe

Silver City

Taos

Zuni

NORTH CAROLINA

Asheville

OREGON

Klamath Falls (2)

La Grande (2)

Prineville

Prospect

Redmond

Roseburg

Vale

Warm Springs

Zigzag

SOUTH DAKOTA

Custer

TENNESSEE

Unicoi

UTAH

Cedar City

Draper (2)

Logan

West Valley City

VIRGINIA

Harrisonburg

WASHINGTON

Entiat

Sedro-Woolley

WYOMING

Greybull

SOURCE:

• https://www.fs.usda.gov/science-technology/fire/people/ihc
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotshot_crew

https://panethos.wordpress.com/2024/06/21/geography-of-hot-shot-wildfire-crew-bases/

#bases #climateChange #crews #environment #fire #firefighters #forests #geography #history #HotShots #landUse #news #planning #smokejumpers #transportation #travel #wildfire

@chad @amyfou >how did I not already know about #moosecop

Duh, living on the sun? Naw, moosecop's kinda fallen off the radar recently. #MooseCop on sabatacal from APPD to help fight all those forest fires. Adept at trapsing through dense foliage, he's good at covering lots of ground for the #smokejumpers.

Speaking of which, Ranch Dip, I totes forgot we have a wiki and I keep forgetting to update it.

https://beige.party/@chad/110097432370523310