Forgive me if this is more than you aksed for, but

When I went to the morning briefing, I learned that I was assigned to take 5 engines and a 20-person crew to the County Line Rd and burn off the north side from the highway to a river.

We drove out to the site and just as we were getting starting the radio told me to stop that and go join up with some guys to my east, at the north end of a subdivision. When I arrived I saw that they were working hard to secure a line alond the edge of the houses, but that they were not going to be successful in holding at that spot. My guys joined in but when the fire hit us it went over and around us, into the subdivision, without even slowing down.

I asked for permission to take my guys and fall back and try to hold at a spot that I had seen on the way in. We drove back through the fire to the south to where a paved road ran perpendicular to the 20 mile per hour wind (from the north). I put the engines out west to defend some homes, and asked the 20-person crewboss to give me his 5 best people. We started out to the east, setting backfire along the north side of the road. We burned almost 3/4 of a mile, the 2-foot tall dried grass along the roadside was exploding like gasoline when we lit it. As we reached the end, racing against the oncoming fire (about 20-30 foot tall flames), just as we came to the city park with ballfields that wouldnt burn the main fire hit us, and the six of us dropped down into a ditch on the roadside.

I looked up and saw flames overhead, trying to jump across the road. I knew that the grass would only burn for seconds, and that we were OK, but the other guys didn't have the experience to be so certain (or foolish) and they were trying to burrow into the ground. Thick black smoke was everywhere, the wind was howling, crazy noises, radiant heat. I had every bit of protective gear on, only my nose was exposed.

I thought that the fire would jump the road over us when a large airtanker dropped 3000 gallons right where we were. The road held and all I could do was stand up and look back where we came from.

The north side of the road was black and smokey, several homes were burning there. On the south side only one home was ablaze, and I called for my engines and asked if 1 or 2 were able to break free and come to it. We had been successful.

Overhead were several helicopters and aircraft, and my radio was going off non-stop, so much traffic that it was a jumble of static and words. I looked at the guys, who were looking at me like I was totally insane. Around me was fire and smoke and all kinds of crazy stuff. Total chaos.

Nothing has ever come close to the feeling of the moment that swept over me. I knew who I was and where I fit in, and for about 30 seconds the whole world made sense.

ichi