Famous Firefighters

The boys have become famous on this fire.  The Denver Post took a bunch of pictures at the High Park fire they were on and got a couple of our truck and dad in the rearview mirror.  Then the Pueblo Chieftain came out and took a picture of them too and did an article on them.  It was mostly about our employee Jason because for one thing his dad knows the reporter, but also since this was his first fire and it was such a big one, they thought it would be a good human interest story.  So I'm including the pictures and the article so you can see them.



Dad in Rearview Mirror of Truck



Our truck in front of house they were trying to save. 
Jason is walking and dad is in the driver's seat




Back in Pueblo after working on the High Park Fire near Fort Collins are new firefighter Jason Gutierrez (center) and veterans Scott Atterberry (left) and Bob Antle. They are on alert for possible deployment to the Waldo Gulch fire currently burning near Colorado Springs. Photo by Chris McLean 6-28-12





HIGH PARK FIRE Scott Atterberry of Colorado Wildland Fire Services shot this photo of the High Park Fire burning near Fort Collins while he and his team were helping fight the blaze recently. Courtesy photo

Posted: Friday, June 29, 2012 4:00 am

Baptism by fire

Puebloan's first tour of duty engulfed him in the High Park Fire

Puebloan's first tour of duty engulfed him in the High Park Fire. Jason Gutierrez's introduction to wildland firefighting truly was initiation by fire.

"It opened up my eyes. I pretty much saw and experienced things that I'm told I may never experience again in my life," said Gutierrez, 37, a rookie firefighter who returned Wednesday from his maiden experience at the High Park Fire, one of the state's worst wildland fires ever.

Gutierrez was among a three-person crew from the privately owned Colorado Wildland Fire Service that spent 14 days fighting the massive fire that's been burning near Fort Collins since June 9.

Less than a month after completing a couple of fire science courses at Pueblo Community College, Gutierrez said he was called on to provide firefighting support at the raging High Park Fire, which in three weeks has scorched more than 87,000 acres.

Gutierrez said he and crew chief Scott Atterberry and Bob Antle left Pueblo on June 12 and spent the next two weeks doing structure protection and providing fire support to ground crews battling the massive blaze.

The trio returned to Pueblo on Wednesday and will have two days to rest before the unit can be called back into action.

As contract firefighters, the crew responds to requests for assistance as needed in fighting fires throughout the country.

Gutierrez said he felt prepared for the duties he performed during the long 16-hour days at the High Park Fire, but he admitted he was caught off guard by the strength and relentlessness of the fire.

"It's hard to explain but when you are in a fire, it sounds just a like freight train coming or a jet engine firing up," he said. "Then you see this red glow and the trees light up behind you with an intense heat blowing at you like a furnace."

Gutierrez said much of his time was spent trying to provide protection and mitigation to homes in the path of the flames.

"We sprayed foam on houses and we worked to clear trees, bushes and other debris from near the homes," he said.

Scott with his father's day present. (The tool, it is called a Rhino Hoe) It came the day the were leaving so I gave it to him before he left so he could break it in.

Fearless

I had to put Fearless (our dog) down yesterday. We aren't sure if it was the cancer or old or age or what but he was getting more aggressive. He had been slowly getting worse for a while but we able to manage it. After Scott left on the fire, started getting more aggressive towards Brandon especially and even I wasn't sure if I could completely handle him anymore. We were hoping he would start to decline more physically and make it easier on us to say well he can't walk, breathe whatever becuase he still seemed happy a lot of the time especially outside. I was going to try to wait until Scott came home but Thursday night he chased BJ into Brandon's room while I was in there too and trapped us all in. I couldn't break him of his episode. Luckily I had me cell phone with me because I was waiting for a call from Scott and was able to call Mom and have her come over and knock on the door to get him away. Then I was able to settle him down. So I decided I couldn't take any more chances and took him in on Friday. Mom stayed with the kids. I am so grateful she has a job where she can take off quickly when needed. I was able to be with him the whole time and he was very calm like he knew and was okay with it but I still feel guilty. I know I made the right decision and the safety of my children come first but it doesn't help to not feel like you just killed him. Jessie already wants to look for a new dog but I told her that we were going to wait and make sure that we get the right choice for all of us not just a replacement. BJ does need a doggie companion eventually though he is just too much of a dog lover.
On another note. Scott is doing okay and is safe. Him and Dad had a close call yesterday though. THeir division almost got caught in the fire and they barely made it out. Keep praying for them. They just got volunteered to take one day off and do another seven when their fourteen is up. I am glad Dad was on this one with Scott so they only had one rookie otherwise he would have had two new guys with him and who knows what would have happened. I trust Scott's abilities and have never really worried about him on fires even now but keep praying in case I am wrong.

Summer

So far vacation is nice but with problems as well. Brandon started baseball and is doing pretty well. He gets bored when playing outfield though. This is a noncompetitive team so they take turns at the different positions. He has practice on Mondays and games on Thursdays. With his focus issues he will be lucky not to get whacked upside the head with a ball while he is in the outfield. The school officially diagnosed him with ADHD without the hyperactive aspect and a cognitive learning disorder. Anyway I couldn't find any summer programs that Jessie would like so she is doing the summer story time at school. When we opened up the pool for the summer it was really dirty. The cover had come off during a storm. As I was vacuuming out the pool, the pump went out. So now the kids can't really swim very much because it is so dirty and I can't put much chemicals in until the new pump arrives.  When it does get fixed I will be lucky to get them out of it.  The good news is Scott went on his second fire of the season. The first was only five days but this one, The High Park fire, should last longer. Some of you may have seen it on the news since it made national news. He told me that they have to verify with state patrol who they are whenever they enter a new area because there are some people that are impersonating firefighters, getting into the evacuated areas, and looting the houses. How sick is that? I am starting to wonder if there isn't more bad than good in the world any more. I am trying to stick to a summer schedule of chores and school activities and reading but not with a whole lot of success. If you are reading this Rebecca you are not alone. Sometimes I just let it slide if they are actually playing nicely with each other because I don't know how long it will last. Hopefully things will get smoother as the summer wears on.