Aravaipa Hotshots Archives

Veteran-focused BLM crew in Arizona certified as a Hotshot Crew

Bill GabbertSeptember 27, 2019September 27, 2019UncategorizedAravaipa Hotshots, Arizona3 Comments

Above: Aravaipa Hotshots. BLM photo.

TUCSON, Ariz. – The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Gila District announced September 27, 2019 that the Aravaipa Veterans Fire Crew has achieved certification as an Interagency Hotshot Crew (IHC). Of the 13 BLM IHCs nationwide, the Aravaipa Veterans Interagency Hotshot Crew is the only BLM-funded hotshot crew in Arizona, and only one of two BLM IHCs in the nation focused on recruiting and developing veterans.

“We’re proud of the Aravaipa Crew’s accomplishments and the continued efforts to develop a workforce of Veterans,” said Gila District Manager Scott Feldhausen. “This hard working and highly skilled crew is now a part of the elite fire resources available to fight fires not only in Arizona, but nationally and abroad.”

Interagency Hotshot Crews are the most highly trained and experienced type of hand crews and they must meet and maintain stringent requirements to achieve the IHC status. Their primary mission is to provide a safe, professional, mobile response to all phases of fire management and incident operations. IHCs are staffed, conditioned, equipped and qualified to meet a variety of strategic and tactical wildland fire assignments, and they are typically relied upon for the most challenging fire assignments. When not committed to fire assignments, IHCs provide a workforce to accomplish a variety of resource management objectives while maintaining availability for incident mobilization.

In 2016, the BLM Arizona fire organization requested that the Aravaipa Veterans Crew begin the process to be certified as an IHC. Over the subsequent two years, the Aravaipa Veterans Crew took steps, including multiple fire deployments across the West, to meet the IHC requirements before being formally certified at the national level.

The Aravaipa Veterans IHC will provide an opportunity for veterans to work in a team environment and build skills and experience. Team members will also learn about opportunities to work for and become competitive for employment with the Federal Government in other natural resource arenas.

Information and Photos of Aravaipa Veterans IHC are available at: https://www.blm.gov/arizona/fire/aravaipa-crew

Submitted by the BLM

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Tom. Typos or errors, report them HERE.

Creating the Aravaipa hand crew

BillApril 24, 2016April 24, 2016UncategorizedAravaipa Hotshots, Arizona, photo by Tom Story, veterans

Above: Aravaipa crew superintendent Greg Smith, center in black shirt, briefs the crew on the thinning project in the Garden Canyon area of Fort Huachuca.

The photos and article are by Tom Story

Greg Smith has had more preparation than usual to get his crew ready for the upcoming fire season. He is starting the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Aravaipa hand crew from scratch and the task is almost complete.

Aravaipa hand crew fire — Greg Smith, superintendent of the Ariavaipa Hand Crew.

“This is unique. I know the overhead, most of the overhead, but we know nothing about any of the seasonals, except on paper”, said Mr. Smith. “We are trying to do a veterans crew and right now the numbers are 75 percent vets”.

“The reason that the numbers aren’t higher”, Mr. Smith continued, “is because there aren’t a whole lot of vets with the experience at those higher GS levels; the captain and squad boss positions. All the old vets have moved on into higher up positions or got away from the fire service in general. So now we’re getting a new group of entry-level folks”.

“I was able to pick up a few non-vets with extensive experience: three or four years on a shot crew, which brings a lot to the table where you are starting a new crew” said Mr. Smith who had learned earlier that “strong overhead is key”.

The crew’s overhead positions are all Jackson Hotshot alumni. Mr. Smith brought with him to Sierra Vista both his assistants, Wade Irish and Ryan Hagenah, one of the squad bosses, Anthony Ashalintubbi, and a former squad boss, Daric Burrwith.

Aravaipa fire crew — Arturo de Leon cuts and Shane O’Farrell swamps as the Ariavaipa crew thins vegetation near a recreation site in the Garden Canyon area of Fort Huachca.

“I think we have a pretty good blend. At least seventy-five percent of the crew have some fire experience. Some of the vets came from the vet program. I picked up quite a few of those folks”, continued Mr. Smith.

Mr. Smith started his wildfire career in Arizona with the Coconino National Forest’s Flagstaff Hotshots in 1993 after serving in the Navy. Two years later he moved to the Globe Hotshots on the Tonto National Forest where he spent the next thirteen years, eventually becoming the crew’s superintendent in 2001.

In late 2007, he moved to the Northwest Fire District, outside of Tucson, AZ to help convert Northwest’s highly regarded Type Two Initial Attack crew into a Type One crew. They achieved Type One status in October of 2009, becoming the Ironwood Hotshots. Mr. Smith ran the crew until the Fire District disbanded the crew in 2014. He then joined the BLM and moved to Mississippi to become superintendent of the Jackson Hotshots.

According to BLM State Fire Management Officer Kelly Castillo, in 2015 the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) approached the Arizona State office of the Bureau of Land Management about hosting Mississippi’s Jackson Hotshots early in the fire season. “We said yes, but hotshot crews are expensive”, said Mr. Castillo “and being frugal we asked the Gila District folks to find a housing solution”. The district contacted Brad Nicholson, Chief of the Fort Huachuca Fire Department, with the idea of hosting the crew on the Army base adjacent Sierra Vista, Arizona. Chief Nicholson was very enthusiastic about the idea and worked with the base commander to allow the crew to use some available dormitory space. After the BLM and the Army drafted a formal use agreement the Jackson Hotshots completed a successful multi-week tour of southern Arizona in 2015.

“The idea of starting a crew in southern Arizona grew out of bringing Jackson down early in the 2015 season” continued Mr. Castillo, “and since the BLM has a history of having veterans crews, it made good business sense to base them at the Fort”. Besides having the crew be all veterans, the other goal was to have them attain Type One (hotshot) status within three years.

“NIFC allocated the funding for the crew start up and for the remodel of an unused motor pool facility on base” said Mr. Castillo “as well as an increase in annual preparedness funding”.

Mr. Castillo also indicated that the presence of the Aravaipa crew at Ft. Huachuca will serve as a recruiting tool for those in the military looking for opportunities following their military service.

The crew is expected to become available for fire assignments around April 25th.

New BLM crew in Arizona has a name

Bill GabbertNovember 11, 2015April 24, 2016UncategorizedAravaipa Hotshots, Arizona4 Comments

The new crew that the Bureau of Land Management is establishing in southern Arizona now has a name — Aravaipa. Last month the BLM announced that the crew will be stationed at Fort Huachuca thanks to a partnership between the BLM and U.S. Army. The agency hopes that after two to three years the crew will meet the standards to be designated as a Type 1 Hotshot Crew.

“The name for a hotshot crew is about representing where you come from, so we selected something that people in southeast Arizona can connect to,” said Timothy Shannon, Gila District Manager.

The BLM has also selected the superintendent for the new Aravaipa crew. Greg Smith, a seasoned wildland fire manager with more than 22 years of experience, will come on board in December, and will assist in hiring, training and supervising the 20-person unit. Smith has extensive experience as a hotshot superintendent with the Ironwood Hotshots, Jackson Hotshots and the Globe Hotshots and is also a four-year military veteran of the U.S. Navy.

Recruitment for the crew will emphasize the selection of military veterans, consistent with BLM’s national emphasis on bringing veterans into the wildfire workforce. The BLM’s long-term goal is for a crew made up entirely of veterans.

The crew will be seeking official hotshot designation during an intensive two to three year certification process, and will be stationed Ft Huachuca thanks to a partnership between the BLM and the U.S. Army.

Two crew captain job openings will be posted Nov. 11 at https://www.usajobs.gov/. In total, six year-round and 13 seasonal job positions will be posted in the coming months.

The Aravaipa crew will be the only hotshot crew (also known as a Type 1 crew) in Southern Arizona and one of only 12 BLM hotshot crews nationwide.

For more information about available crew positions, contact Lathe Evans at (928) 348-4514.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Tom.