Days of Service: 16
Fires Reported: 5
I truly had no idea how much my life would change in 2021 when I accepted an offer to staff the Goat Peak fire lookout above Mazama in North Central Washington’s beautiful Methow Valley. The lookout is approximately 40 miles north of my home near Twisp. I opened on July 1st, hiked down for a resupply on July 8th, and missed a huge lightning storm that started several fires. After the storm I hiked back up to Goat Peak and over the next 48 hours, would report five new lightning strike fires: Driveway Butte, McGee Creek, Early Winters, Delancey Ridge, and Varden Creek. On July 10th the Cedar Creek fire woke up, eventually merging with the Varden fire and burning over 55,000 acres. On July 17th, the eventual 70,000+ acre Cub Creek 2 fire started and grew rapidly. I was in the middle of a lot more action than I’d ever anticipated.
Goat Peak was evacuated on July 19th and fire wrapped for safety. It was an incredibly busy, very short season at Goat with a mix of awe, excitement, and fear. It was a rookie season I won’t soon forget. I also wrote an article for Filson, who was in town helping to paint and restore the nearby First Butte fire lookout, about my experience.
In an area where mountains can create challenges for communication, I passed along information about changing fire and weather conditions to fire crews and relayed information to backcountry Forest Service teams. I watched helicopters, fire bosses, heavy tankers, smokejumpers and rappelers. I learned a lot about fire behavior, smoke reporting, and radio communications. It was a literal trial by fire.
I also doubled as a public information officer. Before the fires, I helped many learn more about the surrounding mountains, valleys, and wildlife. During the fires, I chatted with many Methow Valley locals, who hiked up to visit, see the fire activity, and talk about what was happening.
Below is a collection of my best photos from my short but action-packed 2021 rookie fire lookout season.
First night sunset over Goode and Black Peak.
Sunset over Mazama.
First sunrise at Goat.
First sunrise at Goat.
Smoke from Canada.
Sunset and Robinson Peak.
Morning disturbance clouds.
Paraglider at Goat.
4th of July good morning!
Sunset 4th of July.
Sunset over Robinson Mountain.
Sunset.
Morning storm clouds brewing.
Morning showers.
Jump9 flyby.
Jump9 heading to Driveway Butte fire.
USFS pack team water supply.
Early Winters fire.
McGee Creek smoke on Driveway Butte.
Fire air support.
Artwork and goodies from two young visitors.
Cedar Creek fire.
Cedar Creek fire torching.
Cedar Creek fire growing.
Air tanker inbound from Moses Lake.
Air tanker on Cedar Creek fire.
Air tanker.
Air tanker retardant drop on Cedar Creek fire.
Air tanker working Cedar Creek fire.
Air tanker retardant drop.
Varden Creek fire.
Goat Peak with Cedar and Varden fires.
Varden Creek fire plume.
Heavy tanker support.
Delancy Ridge fire.
Air support on Highway 20 fires.
Fire boss over Highway 20.
Fire boss flyby.
Retardant drop on Delancy Ridge fire.
Fire boss coming in for another round.
Another view of Highway 20 fires.
Fire boss getting low.
Varden Creek fire.
Sunset over Varden Creek fire.
Varden Creek fire flames.
View of Varden from Goat.
Varden and Cedar Creek fires growing.
Large plume from Varden Creek fire.
Active behavior from both Cedar and Varden Creek fires.
Sunset over Robinson Mountain despite nearby smoke.
Watching the fires. Photo: Jack McLeod.
Spot fires on Varden Creek.
Smoke plume from Varden Creek fire.
Goat Peak with smoke from Varden.
Unbelievable smoke layer from Varden Creek.
The view of the Varden Creek fire and smoke from inside Goat Peak.
Smoke from the fires blowing over Goat Peak and down into Whiteface Creek.
Smoke from the fires over Mazama.
Settled smoke in the morning.
Large smoke column from Cedar Creek fire.
Activity from Varden and Cedar.
Helicopter landing at Goat to install radio equipment.
Smoky sunset and Silver Star Mountain.
Start of the Cub Creek 2 fire.
Morning settled smoke.
Large smoke plume from Cub Creek 2 fire.
Smoky sunset over the Delancy Ridge fire.
Final view of the Cub Creek 2 fire from Goat before evacuating for the season.
Sunset despite the smoke.
View of Cub Creek 2 pyrocumulus cloud from Goat Creek Road after closing down Goat for the season.
