Rattlesnake Fire

I finally finished up most of my IMET training and successfully completed my task book while on the Rattlesnake Fire in north central Idaho. All that I have to do before I can go solo is attend the IMET Training workshop in the spring and a take one fire weather class.

I had a lot of fun on the Rattlesnake Fire and learned a lot from both of my trainers. The Rattlesnake Fire had been going on for over 3 weeks by the time I arrived. I have never been to this part of the country before and found it to be remote, but also beautiful. The fire was located in the Nez Perce National Forest along the Salmon River. The forest is named after the Native American tribe Nez Perce, which translates to "the people". In addition to that, the Lewis and Clark trail passed just north of this area. As for the fire itself, it was pretty quiet while I was there. We had some critical fire weather days, but two days of rain really hampered any fire activity. Forecasting the weather for the fire was rather challenging since the terrain was so complex. To get a better perspective on the terrain I got to do a recon trip in a helicopter, which happened to be my first helicopter. All in all, it was a great experience.



To see pictures and videos visit the album
For more info about the fire here

Until next time...
Matt