Bill Gabbert’s fire legacy

Longtime fire journalist Bill Gabbert left us way too soon last year, and many of us will miss him and his contributions to the world of wildfire for a long time to come.

It was pancreatic cancer that took him, and he had a rough go of it for his last year or so, but then he was one of the fortunate few who go quietly and easily in their sleep.

Bill Gabbert, Canada Icefields Parkway
Bill Gabbert on a road trip, Canada Icefields Parkway

When the International Association of Wildland Fire (IAWF) accepted Bill’s generous offer to continue the form, format, and platform of his wildfire journalism websites, we were hoping for many conversations with him, with more time to absorb his advice and knowledge.

Those conversations were far too few, though, and the time far too short. But we are now pleased to announce the BILL GABBERT FELLOWSHIP in Wildfire Reporting, which will fund and mentor and publish the sort of innovative wildfire reporting that Bill exemplified.

An initial donation from a longtime supporter of Wildfire Today helped launch the program. Building on an auspicious start, the IAWF is now accepting donations to honor Bill’s work by developing and supporting a funded program to encourage innovators in wildfire journalism.

To remember Bill and support his legacy into the future, just use the red “Donate Online” link at iawfonline.org/donate – unless you specify otherwise, all donations to IAWF this year will support the BILL GABBERT FELLOWSHIP.

Later this year, officers will announce an application process to screen people and projects that feature reporting by fire-savvy writers and innovative media projects for Wildfire Today and Fire Aviation, with some articles jointly produced with Wildfire magazine.

In the next few posts — by Chuck Bushey and Wade Ward — we  share a few memories  from Bill’s friends and colleagues. Let us know if you have more.

Bill Gabbert’s introduction to firefighting – and motorcycles

by Wade Ward

I first met Bill Gabbert in a forestry economics class in 1968 at Mississippi State where we were both forestry majors. The professor of the class coordinated summer jobs with the students and the Forest Service. The previous summer I had taken one of those jobs: a hotshot position with the Chilao Hotshots in southern California. I told Bill about the experience and he decided he wanted to go the next summer. 

We went to see the professor who advised us, but he said he currently had only fire tower lookout positions and some timber stand improvement positions. Bill and I took the timber stand improvement positions, and we ended up in northern California at the Log Springs Ranger Station on the Mendocino National Forest, where we spent the summer running chainsaws and thinning trees. Twice our crew was sent to fires, where I assume someone thought chainsaws were needed. Both times we were not put on the fireline. Bill was disappointed. 

Haight & Ashbury
Wade Ward (left) and Bill Gabbert (right) on an early trip to California.

We returned to Mississippi State and rented an off-campus duplex where we lived the following year. I graduated and was immediately drafted into the Army – as I won the 1969 draft lottery. Bill dropped out of school lacking only a one-hour credit to graduate; he returned to California as a member of an engine crew in southern California, where he could actually fight fires. He did not have to worry about the draft as he’d got a high number. He also eventually took another course and received his degree.

When I finished my Army stint I traveled by motorcycle to Lake Elsinore, California to visit with Bill. He was in love with his job, and he stayed with the Forest Service until transitioning to the Department of the Interior. I never visited him while he was in Indiana, but did so several times while he was in Hot Springs, South Dakota. I rode my motorcycle out there.

On one trip we made Bill decided to buy a bike, and he did that immediately. He and I made numerous bike trips together through the years, and I think perhaps the only thing he liked better than the bike trips was his career and his associates in the wildfire community. So it’s quite fitting that his ashes will be spread in National Parks … Paul Mims and I, along with another friend, will be taking some of Bill Gabbert’s ashes by bike to Rocky Mountain and Wind Cave National Parks. Family members and other friends will help spread his ashes in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.

Bill Gabbert (center) with Paul Mims (left) and Wade Ward (right) on one of their bike trips. Bill completed an Iron Butt Association ride – to qualify you need to ride 100 national parks within a year.
Bill Gabbert (center) with Paul Mims (left) and Wade Ward (right) on one of their bike trips. Bill completed an Iron Butt Association ride – to qualify you need to ride 100 national parks within a year.

A bit of Bill Gabbert history

We got a note yesterday from Marty Parish, who knew Bill Gabbert years ago. He was amazed to see names here from his IHC days; he said he met Bill when he was with the Laguna Hotshots in the early 1980s, when Bill was working in Prevention and lived at Camp Ole, near the Laguna IHC camp.

Marty sent us this photo that was sent to him by another firefighter. He does not know where or when it was taken.  But that’s for sure Bill Gabbert at far left. Who can identify more of the guys in this photo?

Radar Squadron on Mt. Laguna
Radar Squadron on Mt. Laguna

“At 17 I became a Young Adult Conservation Corps (YACC) member in late 1978,” wrote Marty. “We were based out of a work camp located off the same highway (Sunrise Hwy) about two miles north of Camp Ole (Al Bahr Shrine Camp, now gone after the 2013 Chariot Fire). We worked closely with the USFS as part of the program. I was hired in ’79 as an Engine Crewman (Corral Canyon) while working as a YACC with Mert Thomas in Recreation (Mert got me the job!) and I finished the second half of the season that year ending in early January of 1980. I returned in the spring to Camp Ole for my first Hotshot season.”

“I didn’t really know Bill well,” added Marty.  “We had lived for a short time in the same USFS realm on the Cleveland National Forest-Descanso District; he had left suppression before we met and was working in Prevention. He lived in one of the USFS employee residences at Camp Ole (on Mt. Laguna, San Diego County).”

“I was a Laguna Hotshot for three years, but not sure he was there all three years (we relocated for a year to Descanso, then returned to Camp Ole, only to relocate back to Descanso permanently after I left for FHS).”

Marty, who was also with the Flagstaff Hotshots 1983-1985, added this. “Not sure who is in this photo, but that’s definitely Bill on far left side. Again, my condolences for your loss. A couple of others from that era recently passed too, including my dear friend Brian Connelly from LHS and MCB/Camp Pendleton Fire. Let me know if you pick up other names of people in the pic.”

Hit us up if you recognize any of the other guys in this photo or can provide other details — just click “Leave a comment” under the headline above. THANKS!

 

Got your six here

09. December, 2022 — Readers of FireAviation and WildfireToday have probably noticed that we have lately featured fewer-than-usual posts here by Bill Gabbert.

“That’s because I have developed an incurable disease,” says Mr. Gabbert. “I have pancreatic cancer. The symptoms started about September, and the diagnosis came in October. Basically there will be no major changes to either of these websites, but there will be a bit of a transition period that may take us a little while.”

BILL GABBERT
Bill Gabbert and the poster for ONLY THE BRAVE, photo by Wendee Pettis

The WildfireToday site was launched in January 2008 and FireAviation  followed four years later in 2012. “I have long had a passion for wildland fire,” says Mr. Gabbert, “and it requires continuous learning. I’ve always been a student of wildfire, and I wanted to create a venue for the fire community that encouraged students of wildfire. I am certain that I don’t want that venue squandered. I therefore have decided to give all rights to both websites to the International Association of Wildland Fire. The IAWF shares my values, and my commitment to preserving these two websites and 15 years of collected data, knowledge, and experience gathered from thousands of people who share our passion for wildland fire.”

REGARDING ADVERTISERS: Bill Gabbert wants you to know that we all appreciate your support for the last 15 years. “We couldn’t have done this without the advertisers,” he says. “We value your support over the years and someone with IAWF will be in touch in the near future about our upcoming plans. The intention is that both websites will continue on mostly without interruption. Our goal is that the knowledge accumulated over the years on these two sites will not be abandoned.”

“Things progressed a lot faster medically here than what was projected,” added Bill, “but we’re doing the best we can.”

REGARDING OUR READERS: Bill Gabbert and the IAWF are committed to maintaining the continuity and quality of both sites and the news and commentary that have made both WildfireToday and FireAviation trusted sources of wildland fire journalism for years.

Bill interviewed at the Washington Monument
Bill is interviewed about the Washington DC weather after he had interviewed retiring F&AM director Tom Harbour.

FROM THE IAWF:
Since 2008 Bill Gabbert has developed and published WildfireToday; his journalism and commentary expanded in 2012 to include the FireAviation site.

In these publications we have learned of changes in wildland fire operations and policy and have tracked how wildland fires affect our lives and communities.

Bill was often the first to tell us of fire tragedies and new developments in the field. It is the community he gathered — the experts and sources he knew and depended on and the readers and businesses who supported both sites — that makes these sites what they are.

Bill Gabbert photo by Kari Greer
Bill Gabbert enjoyed the photo exhibit at the Continuum Conference at Missoula in the spring of 2018 and Kari Greer made this portrait of Bill in the gallery.

Today the IAWF honors Bill as a key to both the history and the future of wildland fire in the U.S. and beyond.

As Bill moves on here, he has asked us to manage the future of these publications; it’s an honor and a  challenge to steward his legacy.