1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:04,040 Speaker 1: Dear listener. Before we start, a quick warning in this episode, 2 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:06,279 Speaker 1: there's a brief mention of suicide. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:07,080 Speaker 2: Take care. 4 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:09,960 Speaker 3: And once you get there and you can get the briefings, 5 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:12,400 Speaker 3: the plan, what they want you to do, you start 6 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 3: getting the little butterflies right. You start driving up towards 7 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 3: the line, and you know what to expect because you've 8 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 3: being on other fires. 9 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:18,120 Speaker 2: But every fire is different. 10 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:26,400 Speaker 1: Right from futro Media and PRX, It's Latino USA. I'm 11 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 1: Maria jo Josa today into the fire with El Dorado 12 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:46,839 Speaker 1: Hotshot Armando Perez. Massive wildfires continue to ravage California over 13 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:49,519 Speaker 1: the holiday weekend, forcing thousands from their homes. 14 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 2: Wildfire danger in the state of Texas, so we're talking 15 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 2: about ninety nine percent of the state experiencing some level 16 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:57,680 Speaker 2: of droughts. 17 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:00,279 Speaker 1: This is the view from the ground during the worst 18 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:03,080 Speaker 1: wildfire season in California's history. 19 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:06,319 Speaker 3: Firefighters near and far coming together today to more in 20 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:08,399 Speaker 3: the loss of one of their own killed on the 21 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:09,120 Speaker 3: line of duty. 22 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:13,240 Speaker 2: President Biden is now considering declaring a climate emergency. 23 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,960 Speaker 1: Are Mondo Perez, or Mando as he likes to be called. 24 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 1: Never imagine that he would be responding to some of 25 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: the worst wildfires in US history as a member of 26 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:29,040 Speaker 1: a special firefighter team called the hot Shots. 27 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 3: My family was very traditional, old school Mexican family. It 28 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 3: was all about working family. So when I was growing up, 29 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 3: I thought it would be in the construction business because 30 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 3: that's what my grandfather did. 31 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:39,680 Speaker 2: A lot of my uncles did that. 32 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:43,319 Speaker 1: But for the past decade, Mondo has worked as a 33 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:47,800 Speaker 1: wildland firefighter with the El Dorado California hot Shot Crew. 34 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:51,400 Speaker 1: Hot Shots get that name because they work on the 35 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 1: hottest part of wildfires. There are just over a hundred 36 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: of these hot shot teams in the entire United States, 37 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: and Mondo is part of one. Mondo's career in firefighting 38 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 1: wasn't just unexpected, it had a pretty unusual start as well. 39 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 3: When I started getting to my teenageers young teenageers, I 40 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 3: started running around with my local friends and we started 41 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:20,520 Speaker 3: getting into trouble. When I was sixteen, I got sent 42 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:24,320 Speaker 3: to juvenile detention and I did two years, and that's 43 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:26,440 Speaker 3: where I kind of got introduced to firefighting. 44 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:30,720 Speaker 1: At least thirty states in the country have laws that 45 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:35,120 Speaker 1: allow for the employment of the incarcerated population in emergencies 46 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:39,680 Speaker 1: and disasters, and the work is not always voluntary. The 47 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: constitution explicitly denies incarcerated people the right to refuse to work. 48 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 3: The program is were do. It was a little bit 49 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 3: better just not being locked up in your cell all day. 50 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: The work of incarcerated firefighters has been denounced as inherently exploitative. 51 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: Prisoners only get paid one or two dollars per hour. 52 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:05,360 Speaker 1: In some states like Texas and Georgia, they don't get 53 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 1: paid at all. 54 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:09,639 Speaker 3: You can to understand that it's pennies what they pay you. Right, 55 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 3: you're out there and in the middle of nowhere, risk 56 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 3: in your life. There's chances you get hurt or high 57 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:14,639 Speaker 3: out there. 58 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:18,280 Speaker 1: And then perhaps the worst part of it all, once 59 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 1: they get out of prison. Many of these firefighters have 60 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 1: extreme difficulties pursuing a career because of their background. 61 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 3: When I got out, when I paroled, it was a 62 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 3: little hard finding work based on my record. 63 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:35,040 Speaker 1: But Mondo, who today is forty years old, persevered and 64 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 1: became an exception. He's an example of the paradox and 65 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: transformative potential that this kind of work represents. 66 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 2: I mean that work was hard work, but it was 67 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 2: work there. 68 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,120 Speaker 1: His experience while in prison helped Mondo land a pain 69 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 1: formal job with the hot Shots in El Dorado. Still, 70 00:03:57,280 --> 00:04:02,880 Speaker 1: even in freedom, conditions are far from ideal. For one, 71 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 1: the job is very dangerous. Over five hundred career, volunteer 72 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:13,840 Speaker 1: and wildland agency firefighters, and these include incarcerated firefighters, have 73 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 1: died since nineteen ninety and the number of fatalities is 74 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:21,479 Speaker 1: only going up. In twenty twenty, one hundred and two 75 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 1: firefighters perished. And then the pay is low. It was 76 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 1: only last year that a minimum pay of fifteen dollars 77 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:35,080 Speaker 1: per hour were set for all wildland firefighters. Advocates are 78 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:38,799 Speaker 1: fighting to improve access to health benefits and mental health services, 79 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:42,840 Speaker 1: which is key in a profession that is so demanding 80 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: on both the body and the mind. To understand why 81 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:55,560 Speaker 1: Mando and thousands of other wildland firefighters continue to risk 82 00:04:55,600 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 1: their lives under increasingly difficult and record breaking fires, Mando 83 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:03,400 Speaker 1: is going to recreate what a typical day for him 84 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:08,000 Speaker 1: is going into the fire and also coming out of it. 85 00:05:10,279 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 1: Here's Armando Perez in his own words. 86 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:20,680 Speaker 3: My names are Mondo Perez and I am a hot 87 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 3: shot for the Eldorado Hotshots. I don't want to come 88 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,279 Speaker 3: off as bragging or cocky, but we're like the top 89 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:31,800 Speaker 3: of the Violin firefighters. We're considered a type one fire 90 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 3: line crew, right. It's us and the smoke jumpers on 91 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:35,960 Speaker 3: the smoke difference of the ones that jump out of 92 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:38,360 Speaker 3: the planes. We're kind of the ground resources. We hike 93 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:41,560 Speaker 3: in everywhere, drive to our destination, get off, back up, 94 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 3: and hike. The hikes can be thirty minute hike, they 95 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:45,440 Speaker 3: can be five hour hike. 96 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 2: We do them all. 97 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:50,120 Speaker 3: We're starting to see fires when we normally didn't se 98 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:53,920 Speaker 3: him around January February typically it was about six months 99 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:55,920 Speaker 3: and that was like the old ways. Now we have 100 00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:58,360 Speaker 3: what people are trying to call the fire year, so 101 00:05:58,400 --> 00:05:59,839 Speaker 3: it's year round and. 102 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:02,520 Speaker 2: It's starting to be more common, ladies. 103 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:05,080 Speaker 3: The fires has been more intense, especially out there in 104 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:07,680 Speaker 3: the timber country where if you have the right winds 105 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 3: and the topography lined up, and obviously it's been hotter lately, 106 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:14,760 Speaker 3: the fires they burn pretty intense. So if there's fires 107 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:17,000 Speaker 3: out there going on, they'll call us because we're in 108 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:23,360 Speaker 3: national resource so we get scooped up pretty fast, so 109 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:26,200 Speaker 3: it never gets easier. It's actually getting harder and harder. 110 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:29,039 Speaker 3: I wake up in the morning, I hug and kiss 111 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 3: my wife with the kids. It's funny because they tell everybody. 112 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:34,240 Speaker 3: The routine is, I go up to them, I'll hug them, 113 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 3: and I'll kiss them, and i'll pull a little pink too. 114 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:38,520 Speaker 3: I don't know why I do it, but that's my 115 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:41,120 Speaker 3: routine with them. If one of them wakes up, then 116 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:42,800 Speaker 3: I'll talk to them real quick. Then i'll ask them 117 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 3: when you're getting back, and I give them the same answer. 118 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:47,120 Speaker 3: I don't know, it'll probably be fourteen days from now, 119 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:50,720 Speaker 3: and then yeah, I just go downstairs, get my coffee, 120 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:53,120 Speaker 3: lock up, and then jump in my car and take 121 00:06:53,160 --> 00:07:02,800 Speaker 3: off and then I'll see them in two weeks. Once 122 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:05,560 Speaker 3: we start traveling, we start kind of gathering our thoughts right, like, hey, 123 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:06,520 Speaker 3: what do we expect? 124 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:08,359 Speaker 2: What am I going to do? And most of us 125 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:09,680 Speaker 2: start getting information through the phone. 126 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:11,880 Speaker 3: Right the internet nowadays it's easy to get information and 127 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 3: where you're going, like, hey, what the fire doing, what 128 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:15,240 Speaker 3: are the expectations? 129 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:16,800 Speaker 2: Who's there, who's not there? 130 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:18,160 Speaker 3: And once you get there and you can get the 131 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:21,120 Speaker 3: briefiends the plan what they want you to do, you 132 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:23,200 Speaker 3: start getting the little butterflies. Right you start driving up 133 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:26,520 Speaker 3: towards the line. You know what to expect because you're 134 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:28,400 Speaker 3: being on other fires, but every fire is different. Right, 135 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:31,560 Speaker 3: you get there, you jump out, you guys get all 136 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:33,680 Speaker 3: geared up. Okay, it's game time. Right, you get that 137 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:36,520 Speaker 3: feeling like, oh man. You start looking up, you see 138 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:40,360 Speaker 3: the fire, see your fuels. Right, you got brush, you 139 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:43,080 Speaker 3: got trees. You kind of start making assumptions your head, like, 140 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:45,480 Speaker 3: if we're in tree country, there's crowning where the fire 141 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:47,440 Speaker 3: runs to the top of the trees. If you're in brush, 142 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 3: heavy brush is going to burn super hot. You line 143 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:53,040 Speaker 3: your guys out and you see their faces, especially the 144 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:53,360 Speaker 3: new ones. 145 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:53,560 Speaker 2: Right. 146 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:55,040 Speaker 3: You start looking at the face of the new people 147 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:57,920 Speaker 3: and you're like, okay, I remember that feeling. 148 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:00,840 Speaker 2: So you're just looking at them like okay. 149 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:03,160 Speaker 3: You just try to prepare them for whatever comes right 150 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 3: as best as possibly be, telling them what to expect 151 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:08,440 Speaker 3: and what the plan is. If things go not according 152 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:10,440 Speaker 3: to plan, what to do. Then you break out into 153 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 3: your squads or your mods and one mongo's one way 154 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:14,640 Speaker 3: to the mogoles the other way, and you kind of 155 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:16,000 Speaker 3: try to attack the flank of the fire. 156 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:16,960 Speaker 2: Right. 157 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:20,520 Speaker 3: You just start hearing the chainsaws fire up and start 158 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:24,680 Speaker 3: cutting brush, and then you know it's like okay, we're here, 159 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:28,640 Speaker 3: we're doing it. The biggest thing is going out there 160 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:31,760 Speaker 3: and making sure the guys can cut line right efficiently. 161 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:35,839 Speaker 3: It's pretty much the act of removing fuel. So let's 162 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:37,480 Speaker 3: say you got a force right, and you got brush 163 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 3: or bushes and trees, just continuous fuel. We're trying to 164 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:45,040 Speaker 3: get on one side of the fire and remove a 165 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:48,079 Speaker 3: line of brush, secle fuel break, and we're going. 166 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:48,640 Speaker 2: Over with the chainsaws. 167 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 3: Chainsaws do cutting right, and then you have a group 168 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:53,079 Speaker 3: of folks behind the chainsaws, which are the scrapes or 169 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:57,080 Speaker 3: the hand tools, and they scrape back show organic material. 170 00:08:57,320 --> 00:08:58,680 Speaker 2: So it ends up looking like a trail. 171 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,080 Speaker 3: It wouldn't be the perfect walking trail, but good enough 172 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:03,800 Speaker 3: for us to get in and out and then create 173 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:05,679 Speaker 3: that fuel break. So when the fire does get to 174 00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:09,120 Speaker 3: that point and it kind of puts itself out on 175 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 3: my squad boss myself, this is my ninth year on 176 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:15,240 Speaker 3: the forest. Kind of started from the bottom up, and 177 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:19,160 Speaker 3: I was a senior firefighter for seven years. 178 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:21,480 Speaker 2: So the squad boss is. 179 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:24,480 Speaker 3: Like the closest to the guys, the actual workers and 180 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:25,960 Speaker 3: the chain of comme out. I'm like the first guy 181 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:28,600 Speaker 3: that the saw and the screens go to the senior firefighters. 182 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:30,280 Speaker 3: They come to me if I don't have an aswer 183 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:32,160 Speaker 3: for them to bump it up to my captain and 184 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 3: so on. I'm just running around and then listening to 185 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:36,959 Speaker 3: the radio traffic, because once you get on the fire line, 186 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:39,880 Speaker 3: everyone's talking. You kind of gather more information just by 187 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:41,840 Speaker 3: hearing people talk. People on the other side of the 188 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:43,559 Speaker 3: fire the other side of the line down the road. 189 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:45,600 Speaker 3: They're throwing bits and piece out there, and you kind 190 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:47,280 Speaker 3: of get all that information. You start putting it together. 191 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:51,680 Speaker 3: You start painting this picture in your own head. So 192 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:53,040 Speaker 3: you just kind of put that in the back of 193 00:09:53,080 --> 00:09:56,640 Speaker 3: your noggin and you continue to colign or firing off, 194 00:09:56,679 --> 00:09:59,559 Speaker 3: whatever you're doing. We talk amongst ourselves. We give our 195 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 3: guys updates what the chainsaws are doing up front, if 196 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:06,000 Speaker 3: their captain, the superintend they're all scouting around. They tell 197 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:07,680 Speaker 3: us what they see up ahead of us, like, hey, 198 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:10,440 Speaker 3: as far is doing this. If we get to this 199 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:12,599 Speaker 3: point and the winds are doing this, find out a 200 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:15,240 Speaker 3: good idea to continue. Just little information. If that we're 201 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:17,120 Speaker 3: just we're hearing it on the radio. We're talking about sterior. 202 00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:20,560 Speaker 3: If we order a helicopter to come through water drops 203 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:23,120 Speaker 3: or bucket work. Whoever order that helicopter has to talk 204 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:25,000 Speaker 3: to them and they'll ask us, hey, what do you 205 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:26,440 Speaker 3: guys need to say? And we're like, hey, you see 206 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:28,600 Speaker 3: that main head of the fire, can you cool it 207 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:30,800 Speaker 3: off for us? And then don't go in there and 208 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:34,199 Speaker 3: do their work. One thing we learn from our hye 209 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:36,199 Speaker 3: ups is always be thinking about the next step. 210 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:37,679 Speaker 2: What are you going to do next? What if this 211 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:38,280 Speaker 2: happens with it? 212 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:40,600 Speaker 3: So you start throwing those what ifs in your head 213 00:10:40,679 --> 00:10:43,840 Speaker 3: while still trying to stay engaged on what's currently happening. 214 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:48,679 Speaker 2: So it's just an ongoing process. People are tired. 215 00:10:48,679 --> 00:10:50,800 Speaker 3: You're kind of trying to snack in between as you're 216 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:52,720 Speaker 3: going up and down these hills and trying to find 217 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:55,120 Speaker 3: time to squeeze in a snack while still trying to 218 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:58,880 Speaker 3: get productivity out of your folks. You continue going. You 219 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:02,560 Speaker 3: got people sweating, haul are tired, looking for the next 220 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:05,319 Speaker 3: piece of line, and can continue cutting on if you're 221 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:07,480 Speaker 3: close enough to the fire. It gets extremely hot, right 222 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:10,320 Speaker 3: even with little wonder foot two flames. You're sitting there 223 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:12,160 Speaker 3: taking a little bit of heat, trying to go direct 224 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:14,840 Speaker 3: hot You're like, man, my face is burning every now 225 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:16,400 Speaker 3: and then you pop out trying to get a little 226 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:17,960 Speaker 3: bit of fresh air away from the heat, get back 227 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:20,319 Speaker 3: in it, start thinking, man, it's almost quit in time. 228 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:25,120 Speaker 3: I hope nothing crazy happens when they say, you know 229 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:27,439 Speaker 3: what as far as doing this, and they might say 230 00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:31,240 Speaker 3: we need to burn off. Now nowadays the fires are 231 00:11:31,240 --> 00:11:34,320 Speaker 3: too intense or too complex to get in there and 232 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:35,199 Speaker 3: do it safely. 233 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:37,120 Speaker 2: So we've been doing more. 234 00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:39,920 Speaker 3: Burning operations than anything, where we go in there and 235 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:42,400 Speaker 3: light to fire ourselves kind of give ourselves a buffer 236 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:44,520 Speaker 3: zone so when the fire does come, it kind of 237 00:11:44,559 --> 00:11:50,599 Speaker 3: just peters out there and it doesn't continue. If you 238 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:53,439 Speaker 3: start burning, you're probably gonna be burning well into your 239 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:57,400 Speaker 3: next shift on a fire. Our shifts are typically sixteen 240 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:00,640 Speaker 3: hours and then we've been down for eight, but lately 241 00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:03,520 Speaker 3: they've been going longer, so you're scheduled for sixteen. But 242 00:12:03,559 --> 00:12:06,920 Speaker 3: if the need should arise, you will do whatever you 243 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:09,559 Speaker 3: need to do twenty four thirty two. We've done seventy 244 00:12:09,559 --> 00:12:11,920 Speaker 3: two hour shifts before. They're not the best, but when 245 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:15,400 Speaker 3: you're lacking resources and the fire is just pushing your hand, 246 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:19,600 Speaker 3: you have to do what you got to do. And 247 00:12:19,640 --> 00:12:21,760 Speaker 3: as long as we have line handline, all the way 248 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:23,920 Speaker 3: around it. The engines come in, they put a little 249 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:26,160 Speaker 3: water on the edge, kind of secure the edge, and 250 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:29,120 Speaker 3: they feel good. Then you could say it's not out, 251 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,280 Speaker 3: but it's contained, right, it's controlled. 252 00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:33,520 Speaker 2: It's in a good. 253 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:35,720 Speaker 3: Spot where the hot shots can walk away, and then 254 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:38,800 Speaker 3: you can bring another resources behind us and they could monitor. 255 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:40,199 Speaker 2: It until they put it out. Completing. 256 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:43,000 Speaker 3: We like to go where the actions at. We're better 257 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:44,920 Speaker 3: equipped for that. We're a bunch of people that get 258 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:51,360 Speaker 3: restless sitting around too long. So once the fourteen days 259 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:52,360 Speaker 3: come up, we're done. 260 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:55,240 Speaker 2: They send us home. It starts with the drive home. 261 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:57,559 Speaker 3: Right when you start driving home, I got thirty minutes, 262 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:00,200 Speaker 3: thirty five minutes to kind of start winding down. You 263 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:02,400 Speaker 3: go from going to one hundred miles an hour like 264 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:07,520 Speaker 3: intense fighting fire, and your brain's always going to coming 265 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:10,480 Speaker 3: home and you have to find that shut off. Right 266 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:12,840 Speaker 3: on my drive home, I'll just turn off some music, 267 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:15,920 Speaker 3: listening to music and kind of start whining down, let 268 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:18,800 Speaker 3: in my mind kind of relax, get away from fire 269 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:22,360 Speaker 3: for a little bit, start pre engaging myself with the 270 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:23,079 Speaker 3: home life. 271 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:26,760 Speaker 2: You get back and to give you it used to 272 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:27,440 Speaker 2: be two days. 273 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:29,760 Speaker 3: They just passed them recently where now we get three 274 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:33,000 Speaker 3: days off mandatory, which is awesome because two days was 275 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:36,400 Speaker 3: not enough. You spend one day watching packing and getting 276 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:38,880 Speaker 3: all your stuff in order, and then your second day 277 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:40,880 Speaker 3: you can kind of enjoy the family, and then the 278 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:41,880 Speaker 3: next day you're back at it. 279 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:43,080 Speaker 2: So these three days help out. 280 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:45,959 Speaker 3: It helps out with recovery, because fourteen days of just 281 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:48,640 Speaker 3: banging your body out there, it gets pretty uh, it 282 00:13:48,679 --> 00:13:50,960 Speaker 3: gets pretty grueling, and your body doesn't recovering. 283 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:53,840 Speaker 2: My family is my world. 284 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:58,640 Speaker 3: I'm married five five kids, have been married for twenty 285 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:00,800 Speaker 3: years now. I don't know how my wife does it, 286 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:03,320 Speaker 3: puts up with this job, but she's there. She's hanging 287 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:06,120 Speaker 3: out tough. My kids they love what I do, even 288 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:08,520 Speaker 3: though that they miss me. I think they get a 289 00:14:08,559 --> 00:14:10,360 Speaker 3: sense of pride knowing that their dad is a wild 290 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:13,040 Speaker 3: on firefighter or even more than that, a hot shot. 291 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:17,000 Speaker 3: So you get home, you try to decompress. If you 292 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:19,000 Speaker 3: sit there with your family, try to absorb what they're doing. 293 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:23,520 Speaker 3: And you're trying. You're trying to fill in two weeks 294 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:26,640 Speaker 3: of time you missed in two or three days, and 295 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:29,760 Speaker 3: it's impossible. It's impossible, So you just got to kind 296 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:33,880 Speaker 3: of slow down. And just take what's there and make 297 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:36,720 Speaker 3: the best of it. I mean, the option is not 298 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:39,160 Speaker 3: doing this anymore, right, and most of us love what 299 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:44,280 Speaker 3: we do, but it doesn't come with a price. It's 300 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:48,400 Speaker 3: fire stressful, man, it's extremely stressful. It's hard. I mean 301 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:51,040 Speaker 3: people out there, you lose sleep out there just thinking 302 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:53,880 Speaker 3: about the next day or the next role. Right, we 303 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:55,880 Speaker 3: get back and it's like three days for us, it's 304 00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:57,440 Speaker 3: a lot. We're like, oh heck, yeah, three days. But 305 00:14:57,480 --> 00:14:59,600 Speaker 3: in reality is as soon as day two or three 306 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:01,520 Speaker 3: comes around, you start thinking that, oh man, I'm getting ready. 307 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:03,160 Speaker 3: I got to get out of here again. Not wanting 308 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:05,200 Speaker 3: to leave, but it's going to happen, right, you know 309 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:06,960 Speaker 3: that the order is going to come. You're like, oh man, 310 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:08,960 Speaker 3: here we go again. I'm gonna be gone for two weeks. 311 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:11,560 Speaker 3: And knowing that you're going to miss those two weeks again, 312 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:14,960 Speaker 3: it doesn't make it any better. It's not easy not 313 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:17,320 Speaker 3: to get all dark and gloomy. But the suicide rate 314 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:20,560 Speaker 3: for a while on firefighter is high for any firefighter actually, 315 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:24,760 Speaker 3: and I think it has to do with the fact 316 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:27,480 Speaker 3: that when you do come home, shutting it off is hard. 317 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:31,720 Speaker 3: You do this long enough, you start seeing too much. Right, 318 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:34,160 Speaker 3: you start seeing people pass away, you start seeing people 319 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:36,680 Speaker 3: get hurt, and then you feel like you don't have 320 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:39,720 Speaker 3: the support from everyone around you, and it kind of 321 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:42,560 Speaker 3: starts bothering you, and you start thinking like, man, is 322 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:48,240 Speaker 3: this really worth it? I can't try to speculate what 323 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:51,560 Speaker 3: goes through other people's minds, but for me, I understand 324 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:54,840 Speaker 3: it's not easy. I mean, you think about it. You 325 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:58,120 Speaker 3: have your kids are missing you, your wife's missing you, 326 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:00,960 Speaker 3: your husband's missing, your boyfriend, and then you have the 327 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:03,840 Speaker 3: job right and the job stress was it is already 328 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:06,720 Speaker 3: because you're worried about getting hurt or not coming home, 329 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:09,760 Speaker 3: or are you doing the job right, because you're affecting 330 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:11,680 Speaker 3: somebody's life out there if you don't do your job right. 331 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:14,360 Speaker 3: So all these things just accumulate, Right, everything just starts 332 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:16,920 Speaker 3: building up, building up, building up, building up, and then 333 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:19,520 Speaker 3: you come home and maybe all it takes is one 334 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:23,040 Speaker 3: thing to set you off. Everybody got to find that 335 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:26,560 Speaker 3: help what works for them, whether it's actual medical help, 336 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:29,120 Speaker 3: mental health. 337 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:30,520 Speaker 2: Right, you got to think about that. 338 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:40,200 Speaker 3: I don't know, it's a decent living what I do. Obviously, 339 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:42,080 Speaker 3: as you climb the ranks, you get paid better. But 340 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:44,760 Speaker 3: I mean, starting off, I wouldn't say it's the dream 341 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:47,120 Speaker 3: job as far as the finance part of it goes. 342 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:49,480 Speaker 3: But I mean you could make a good living, especially 343 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:52,040 Speaker 3: budgeting wise. You do it smart, you'd be fine. I 344 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:53,880 Speaker 3: don't do it for the money. I definitely don't do 345 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:58,920 Speaker 3: it for the pay. I don't love fires, but I 346 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:01,520 Speaker 3: love fighting the fires. I feel like I'm good at 347 00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:04,240 Speaker 3: what I do, right, So that's the part that obviously 348 00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:06,400 Speaker 3: makes it better is You're always learning something and I'm 349 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:08,679 Speaker 3: getting better at it. But I love being outdoors. I 350 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:11,040 Speaker 3: love being a new country out there, seeing what's out 351 00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:14,840 Speaker 3: the nature. It's beautiful. I guess the danger part kind 352 00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:16,600 Speaker 3: of adds to it. Maybe I don't know. I'm not 353 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:20,040 Speaker 3: a thrill seeker or anything like that. But the challenge 354 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:22,520 Speaker 3: it makes you step up. Right, you see a fire 355 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:23,800 Speaker 3: and they're like, hey, we got to put this out. 356 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:25,440 Speaker 3: How are we going to do it? And it kind 357 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:28,399 Speaker 3: of gets you like, Okay, this is challenging, this is awesome, 358 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:30,640 Speaker 3: Like I want to stop this. I want to help out. 359 00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:36,560 Speaker 3: You meet some unique folks here, like my crew example, 360 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:39,720 Speaker 3: you have twenty two people. We all come from different backgrounds, right, 361 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:44,040 Speaker 3: you put us together and through hard work, sweat, pain, 362 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:47,000 Speaker 3: you guys build this bond, right, and you get to 363 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:49,240 Speaker 3: know each other. You see that even though you guys 364 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:51,920 Speaker 3: are all different, come from different areas, you guys are 365 00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:54,040 Speaker 3: like minded, and you have a goal, right, and you 366 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:55,800 Speaker 3: guys get together and you accomplish that goal, and at 367 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:57,800 Speaker 3: the end of the day, that feeling is like second 368 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:03,520 Speaker 3: to none. The act of stopping the fire, the challenge 369 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:06,120 Speaker 3: of doing it, and knowing that you're saving someone's property 370 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:07,280 Speaker 3: or someone's. 371 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:09,200 Speaker 2: Livelihood, like you're doing sort people you never met. 372 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:12,560 Speaker 3: Right, So we got out there and we saved these properties, 373 00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:17,800 Speaker 3: and it feels good based on my background, right, the 374 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:19,920 Speaker 3: way I grew up, where I came from, it wasn't 375 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:22,600 Speaker 3: an easy life. And I still have family out there 376 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:25,440 Speaker 3: living that life, and I hope the best for them. 377 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:26,240 Speaker 2: I always do. 378 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:29,399 Speaker 3: But seeing my kid's face, or hearing him tell his 379 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:32,520 Speaker 3: friends and his dad's a firefighter, seeing him talk about it, 380 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:34,879 Speaker 3: like the pride he has in his voice when he 381 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:37,880 Speaker 3: tells his friends, it's awesome. 382 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:43,919 Speaker 2: I don't hide my previous life, but I don't go 383 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 2: around broadcasting it. Right. 384 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:47,679 Speaker 3: If people ask me, I tell him. I'm pretty sure 385 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:50,000 Speaker 3: people out there judging me. But for the most part, 386 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:51,360 Speaker 3: I think it's helped out a lot of people. I've 387 00:18:51,359 --> 00:18:53,800 Speaker 3: had a lot of people reach out to me talking 388 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:56,720 Speaker 3: about thank you. I know there's hope now and I 389 00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:00,879 Speaker 3: appreciate you stepping forward and sharing your life with everybody. 390 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:03,480 Speaker 3: And that's also a sense of accomplishment. I feel good 391 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:08,639 Speaker 3: about that we are out there, even though the numbers 392 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:11,280 Speaker 3: are getting less and less. Crews are having hard time 393 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:14,280 Speaker 3: staffing for whatever reasons, but there's still a bunch of 394 00:19:14,359 --> 00:19:16,479 Speaker 3: us out there that care and are continuing to do 395 00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:17,480 Speaker 3: the hard work. 396 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:19,400 Speaker 2: I love this job a lot. 397 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:21,720 Speaker 3: I love my people around me, and I think that's 398 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:24,160 Speaker 3: what keeps me coming back. I know my wife, even 399 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:25,959 Speaker 3: though she don't tell me, I know she doesn't want 400 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:28,640 Speaker 3: me doing something different. But to be direct, I don't 401 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:31,280 Speaker 3: see myself doing anything else other than hot shotting for 402 00:19:31,359 --> 00:19:33,840 Speaker 3: a while when it's not fun anymore, and then when 403 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:35,879 Speaker 3: it doesn't make any more sense, then I'll think about 404 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:36,439 Speaker 3: moving on. 405 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:43,040 Speaker 1: Armando Perez is a wildland firefighter with the El Dorado 406 00:19:43,119 --> 00:20:04,640 Speaker 1: Hotshots in California. This episode was produced by Victoria Strada 407 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:08,720 Speaker 1: and edited by Andrea Lopez Russado. It was mixed by J. J. 408 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:12,639 Speaker 1: Carubin special thanks to Amanda Montai of the Life with 409 00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:18,560 Speaker 1: Fire podcast. The Latino USA team includes Marta Martinez, Daisy Contredas, 410 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:22,880 Speaker 1: Mike Sargent, Julia da Martinelli, Renaldo Leanos, Junior Alejandra Selasad, 411 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:26,080 Speaker 1: Patricia s Ulbaran and Julia Rocha, with help from Raoul Perees. 412 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:30,159 Speaker 1: Our editorial director is Fernanda Santos. Our director of Engineering 413 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:33,840 Speaker 1: is Stephanie Lebau. Our senior engineer is Julia Caruso. Our 414 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:37,480 Speaker 1: associate engineer is gabriel A Bias. Our marketing manager is 415 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:40,880 Speaker 1: Luis Luna. Our theme music was composed by Sanie Robinos. 416 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:43,600 Speaker 1: I'm your host and executive producer Maria jo Josa. Join 417 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:45,640 Speaker 1: us again on our next episode, and in the meantime, 418 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:47,919 Speaker 1: look for us on all of your social media and 419 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:50,240 Speaker 1: remember note Bajas Cchao. 420 00:20:57,200 --> 00:21:00,720 Speaker 3: Latino USA is made possible in part by the and 421 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:05,919 Speaker 3: Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation California Endowment building a strong State 422 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:10,159 Speaker 3: by improving the health of all Californians, and funding for 423 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:13,680 Speaker 3: Latino USA's coverage of a culture of health is made 424 00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:16,120 Speaker 3: possible in part by a grant from the Robert Wood 425 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:17,120 Speaker 3: Johnson Foundation.