The maiden voyage

After less than 48 hours of putting his engine on ‘the board’ to go out west Ryan got his orders to be in Redding, CA by July 5. Redding is north west of Sacramento and just south of the Oregon border. That area has been the hardest hit by wildfires. So he made a few calls, rounded up two other guys, packed his red bag, double checked his equipment and finalized his paperwork.

Mapquest tells me the trip will be over 1800 miles and take two days. They’ll travel I-80 all the way out going through Cheyenne, Salt Lake City and Reno. An overnight stop in Wyoming tonight and they’ll arrive in Redding tomorrow. Ryan doesn’t know which complex he’ll be assigned to yet. He’ll get his orders from the Incident Command Post when they arrive.

He’s going with two other guys, both college aged. John has been out on a wildfire once and this will be Nick’s first experience. They are one of the biggest reasons I’m more nervous this time around. Ryan is responsible for them out there so I do hope they’re careful.

I went to Ames this morning to see them off. It was really neat watching Ryan go through the engine showing them where things are stored and how to work the pump and hose reel. This engine has seemed like an uphill battle sometimes but it was pretty awesome to see it this morning. I’m so proud of Ryan. He really did it.

They will work 10-12 hour days for 2 weeks straight. Which means he’ll be home around July 20^th. Unless of course they ask him to do a consecutive detail in which case he’ll take three days off out there and work another two weeks before coming home.

Hmm… what am I going to do for the next 18 days?