Preparing for the Season

Every summer, forest fires rage for months all over the nation causing lots of damage. To combat them, the government pays local timber companies, such as Miller Timber in Philomath, Oregon to fight these fires . Miller Timber hires people from all walks of life to become a wild land firefighter for the summer season. It's a popular job for many young people because it's laborious, and pays extremely well. It's also during the summer, so students can come back from a summer of work with over $10,000 to help them through the school year. This is what it takes to prepare for the fire season.

 A first year firefighter, Alex Fredrick tries on a fresh pair of Georgia brand boots. He shopped around, but ended up buying them at Wilco in Corvallis. These expensive boots cost him almost an entire paycheck, but they should last him for at least two seasons, a sound investment considering the money to come.

Much of the time spent out on fire is spent hiking with over fifty pounds of gear on your back. To prepare, Alex and veteran firefighter Mickinley Langager each loaded their packs with fourty to fifty pounds of water and set out for a rigorous hike in Mcdonald Forrest.

In order to land the job at Miller Timber, you must be able to pass a drug test. Many of the firefighters are avid marijuana users in the off season, so in order to kick the habit, they resort to smoking tobacco. As Mickinley put it, "It's not that I miss smoking weed, I just like having something to smoke".

While out on fire, if you're not hiking, you'll be digging trenches to stop the fire. In the weeks leading up to the season, Alex has shifted his routine at Timberhill Athletic Club to focus on muscles that will help him dig. He said he's confident in his strength, but endurance could get tough working 12 hour days.

Knowing he got a late start on the drug test preparation, Alex takes every precaution he can to sweat the chemicals out of his system. Alex works out every day, and hits the sauna at his gym to sweat as much as he can.  He's already spent over $300 on boots and other equipment, so failing the test now would be incredibly foolish.