By Christopher Smart
The Salt Lake Tribune
Copyright 2007 The Salt Lake Tribune
All Rights Reserved
KANOSH, Utah — Call them the Fire Brothers or the Wildland Watsons.
But just make sure you call them when wildfire seasons breaks out.
For the Watson brothers of Fairfield, Mont., fire time is family fun time.
The “Scapegoat Fire” crew - aka the Watsons - load up their wildland fire engine every summer and take a tour of the West.
It’s a great way to see the country. And, oh yes, they get paid for it.
“It’s just a lot of fun,” says 22-year-old Brian Watson. “And one of the cool things is that when you save a house - the looks on the people’s faces. They just love you.”
The Watsons have lots of Utah connections.
Brian and his 25-year-old brother, Ben, are BYU students. A summer on the fire line with plenty of overtime helps them meet college expenses. To meet new friends - well, that will have to wait until fall.
On the other hand, their older brother, John, 33 - who is now seeking a graduate degree at the University of Montana - was once a University of Utah student.
“I’m not too fond of blue and white,” he jokes about the inter-school rivalry. “I much prefer red.”
That, of course, is met by taunts from Brian and Ben. There’s no shortage of good-natured ribbing on this crew.
The brothers spend a lot of time with each other - and they really do like it.
Their uncle, Andrew Watson, who lives in Utah County, rounds out the firefighting foursome this season. An educator by profession, he’s taking the summer to get reacquainted with his brother’s sons.
“We’re a family of firefighters,” he says with pride.
The Watson gang has been working the Milford Flat fire in central Utah and was dispatched this week to the rugged Rock Corral Recreation Area to protect ranch houses from the blaze.
If you love the outdoors, it’s a great way to spend the summer, the gang agrees, while taking a short break as the day nears end. You’re out in the wilderness all day and you get to camp out at night, too.
Hopefully, the Watsons aren’t a dying breed. But it’s becoming more difficult each summer to find rugged troops who want to spend May through October in the hinterlands digging fire line and dousing hot spots, says Dick Buhler, Utah’s state forester.
“It’s getting tougher and tougher to find people with that kind of commitment,” he said. “It’s hard, dirty work, 12 to 14 hours a day.”
You wouldn’t know it to watch the Watsons. They don’t let the heat, smoke and dust get in the way of their fun.
Still, these well-trained firefighters know how to play it safe. They’re aware of the low moisture content in the timber and brush on the mountain. They take note of shifting wind patterns. And they always have the ABC’s of fire fighting safety in mind: Lookout, Communicate, Escape route and Safety zone.
“Today, we’re having a good time,” says Ben, as he glances toward the spectacular peaks of the Mineral Mountains.
“We look up and see the smoke and the flames. But when it comes to the trigger point, we pick up and leave.”
And that means they’ll be back tomorrow and the next day and next year, too.
“It’s being involved with something that’s worthwhile,” says Ben. “It makes it all worth it.”