Fighting Fire with Fire

Corpsmembers Deploy Statewide
One year ago Luke Duivenvoorden was bagging groceries at a local market, Anne Garn worked at a big box retailer stocking shelves, Jason Venske was flipping burgers and Kevin Oxley was making a career out of sitting on his dad’s couch.

Today they’re fighting fires with the CCC’s “Shasta 21”
fire crew.

Battling forest fires has been a part of the California Conservation Corps' mission since it was created in 1976, and a legacy of the work done by Civilian Conservation Corps crews during the 1930s. Over the years, modern-day CCC crews have been dispatched to nearly every major fire in the state.

The CCC's fire response work ranges from providing logistical support at the fire camps to initial attack on the firelines.

The CCC's Type II crews, which receive extensive physical and classroom training, fight fires and assist with mop-up of hot spots after the fire is out. “The training is unbelievable," said Chris Hodges from the back of the crew's transport vehicle after spending the last five hours in a burning forest with a chainsaw. “This is what I want for the rest of my life.”

At major fire camps, which often support 2,000 or more firefighters around-the-clock, corpsmembers can be found running the supply operations, assisting with food service, rolling up fire hoses, helping with set-up and tear-down of the camp and more.

As of November 2007, the CCC looks back on an extremely busy 2007 fire season. John Martinez, the Corps' Emergency Services Unit manager, finally has a chance to catch his breath, some 40 fires later. "Though we were very active for a long stretch earlier in the season, throughout the state, the October fires in Southern California happened overnight, and required a lot of resources very quickly," John said. "We sent out 38 crews, more than 500 corpsmembers. All the centers stepped up and provided the resources that were needed.This year seems to be a season I don't think we'll forget anytime soon."

The CCC’s “Shasta 21” crew out of Redding was deployed to help fight the Poomacha fire on Mt. Palomar in San Diego County. “We’ve been brushing out roads, cutting fire lines, getting chased by the fire back to the safety zone. We thought we were through for the season and then these Santa Ana winds flared up and here we are," noted Shawn Fry, fire crew supervisor on the Shasta 21 fire crew. He’s been running the Type II fire response teams for the past seven years. Through the sound of chainsaws and crackling trees you can hear Fry barking orders to his crew, orders that are followed without any hesitation or questioning. This is a well-oiled, tightly run machine and any goofing off on the line is met with a sharp and swift reprimand from Fry followed later by encouragement and joking back in the crew vehicle. He has clearly earned their respect and admiration.

From July through September a total of 142 CCC crews were called out, responding to at least 15 fires for CAL FIRE and 18 for the U.S. Forest Service. Nearly 115,000 hours were provided to the two agencies. The largest incident was the Zaca Fire in Santa Barbara County, which raged for two months in the Los Padres National Forest. "We had 48 different crew requests for this fire," John said.

Other major fires to which the CCC responded were the Moonlight Fire in Plumas County, the Lick Fire in Santa Clara County and the Elk Fire in Siskiyou County. Then, as the Santa Ana winds picked up in October, the CCC dispatched more than 500 corpsmembers and staff to fires in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and San Diego counties. Crews were called in from as far away as Lake Tahoe and Redding.

Read more!

The C's in Big Sky Country

Corpmembers Invade Montana
It's not unusual for the Los Padres Center in San Luis Obispo to work in several nearby counties, but five corpsmembers found themselves spending two weeks tackling projects a bit farther away, in Montana.

The corpsmembers and their crew supervisor, Ben Herbert, drove to "Big Sky" country for two weeks as part of the second exchange with the Montana Conservation Corps. The scenery didn't disappoint.
It was September and warm in California, but the corpsmembers were surprised to brave an early Montana snowstorm when they arrived. Then came an eight-day backpacking spike in the Jedediah Smith Wilderness near Yellowstone National Park. After a few days of trail work, the CCC crew awoke one morning to find six inches of snow around their tents. Not to worry -- they just moved to a lower location and continued their trail work.

How did they measure up to the work? Montana officials heaped praise on them for their work ethic, general attitudes and ability to adapt to changing conditions, weather and all.
With CCC alumni spread out over the country, the crew linked up with Tim Warner, a former corpsmember and Backcountry supervisor. Tim works for the National Park Service in the Grand Tetons and treated the crew to a backyard barbecue at his home.

After the Californians returned home, the Los Padres Center hosted six corpsmembers from Montana. Bruce Bonifas, the CCC's conservation supervisor who oversaw the exchange, did his best to match up the Montanans with scenic Central Coast worksites. "We tried to get them next to the coast as much as possible," he said.

The Montanans worked at Pismo Beach, removing protective fencing at the end of nesting season for the threatened snowy plover. With guidance from State Parks ecologists, they also improved the beach habitat for the birds. Along with birds, the Montanans focused on fish, creating habitat for the endangered California steelhead trout. And there was a chance to do a little hiking, as they walked in several miles to work on the Santa Margarita Lake Trail.

It wasn't all work -- the group visited San Francisco and camped out at Big Sur before driving back to Montana. If all goes well, the two corps programs are looking to do a third round of exchanges in 2008. Read more!

Into the Wild

With the CCC Backcountry Trails Program

Jimmie Marquez and Kallie Mahon sit by the fire deep in the heart of Yosemite. It’s five in the morning, raining and the end of their fifth month in the Backcountry. Breakfast is at six. Seven means work, rain or shine. Work means busting rock, hauling logs, creating trails that will be available to their great-grandchildren should they ever find themselves being graced by the beauty of Yosemite.

No iPods, e-mail or myspace. No television, PlayStation3 or beds. They sleep in tents and use an 8 x 12 hole in the ground for a bathroom, living and breathing for five-and-a half months with twelve other people they had nothing in common with prior to this adventure. Last night was the first time in 150 days they slept in a bed, took a hot shower or used a telephone.

The 2007 Backcountry trails program held its annual debriefing at Camp Mather just outside of Yosemite where 75 corpsmembers from six different crews converged to discuss their experience, receive their much coveted patches and take a deep breath before joining life as they knew it back in May.

A proud tradition of excellence has been forged by the many members who have played a vital role helping to build, maintain, and repair trails in some of California's most magnificent wilderness areas. Each spring, the Backcountry Trails Program assembles six crews of men and women, from widely diverse backgrounds, who leave behind the conveniences and luxuries of modern life and venture into the mountains to spend five exhausting months doing some of the most challenging and ultimately rewarding work of their lives. The 17 members who comprise each of these crews learn through experience the skills of trail maintenance, construction, and the process of building healthy productive communities.

Read more!

Living in a Land Down Under

CCC in Australia

CCC Crew Learns to Say "G'Day, Mate"
It wasn't the traditional lions, tigers and bears, (oh my!) but the nine corpsmembers on the CCC's Australian work exchange this year had a chance to see some extraordinary wildlife -- kangaroos, koalas and wallabies -- during their stay Down Under.

The CCC crew was part of the Corps' annual exchange with Conservation Volunteers Australia, a nonprofit environmental organization. Corpsmembers spent nearly two months in the Victoria/Melbourne and Adelaide areas, planting trees, maintaining wildlife corridors and restoring trails ("walking tracks" as they're called in Australia).

"We got to do some track (trail) work this week," CCC staff liaison Jolie Urushibata e-mailed home. "The corpsmembers were pumped to get some real work done."
Conditions weren't what most American tourists experience in Australia. "Seven bunk beds in one room, tight space," Jolie wrote. "Had to boil water since they pump straight from the river for drinking water. Leeches in our pants and boots, and bites here and there, but we are doing great." The Australians were very friendly and hosted the crew at several barbecues, or "sausage sizzles," as they're termed.

The corpsmembers saw herds of kangaroos outside their lodge and on the way to work. Wildlife presentations throughout their stay gave them a chance to see baby kangaroos and wallabies up close and personal.

The corpsmembers left California in August and returned at the end of October. At the same time, two Aussie contingents traveled to the CCC's Ukiah and Tahoe centers for a slice of American life. They had a chance to improve fish habitat and tackle recovery work on the Angora Fire site. And on weekends, they visited San Francisco, the North Coast redwoods and an area shopping mall. Daily life produced a little culture shock, with the Australians surprised to find no scheduled tea breaks.

Staff liaison Jolie hopes that the two exchange groups can meet in future years and pick up tips from each other. In the meantime, she advises to "pack light, take a lot of money and be prepared for the flies in South Australia." Read more!

Nature Deficit Disorder

That's the headline of a recent story in the San Francisco Chronicle bemoaning the participation of California youth in outdoor activities.

A September study by the Public Policy Institute of California came up with some startling statistics. Asking parents how often their children between the ages of 13 and 17 participated in nature activities such as camping, hiking or backpacking this summer, a whopping 30 percent responded "never." When correlated by race, the study found 41 percent of Latino teenagers in the "never" category, compared to 19 percent of whites. Income was also a major factor. Those in the under-$40,000 income bracket had the highest "never" scores, or lack of outdoor participation.

The numbers get better when individual outdoor activities such as biking, tennis, running or swimming are considered; those who "never" participate drop to 11 percent.
But enough of the numbers. What does this really mean? "Nature is increasingly an abstraction you watch on a nature channel," according to Richard Louv, author of "Last Child in the Woods." The thrust of his book is that kids are getting farther and farther away from the outdoors. You want to see nature? Why not just download some images.

For those who live in urban areas -- believed to be about 80 percent of Americans -- there are admittedly fewer opportunities to experience the outdoors. But Louv believes that there's a nature gap these days anyway. California has the most state and national parks, but there are still those 30 percent of teenagers who didn't go camping or hiking once this summer.
The Chronicle cites video games, television, iPods and cell phones as teenagers' alternatives to nature. And as one young woman said, "They don't teach you about wilderness in school. Kids don't think of it as a park. They just think of it as a big open space where there is nothing to do."
And the nature deficit isn't limited to urban neighborhoods. "Just try to put up a basketball court in one of these gated communities, let alone build a tree house, " Louv said.

The CCC's theory is it's never too late to begin enjoying the outdoors. The Corps hires the greatest number of young people from Los Angeles County and other urban areas, many of whom may be new to nature. But in the CCC, they can experience Yosemite National Park, the Santa Monica Mountains and California redwoods, not to mention hundreds of hiking trails and countless beaches.

So, the study aside, the CCC hopes young people will use the Corps to explore the great outdoors, while enhancing it through their work for future generations. Read more!