Exhausted Oregon firefighters sit and sing together after a long day of battling the flames
Everyone needs a good seventh-inning stretch, but the brave firefighters battling the intractable and devastating Oregon wildfires need a lot more than that.
Unfortunately, there’s a long way to go before they can really rest.
Theodore Hiner and his crew “The Grizzly Firefighters” are pulling 14-hour shifts to save hundreds of thousands of acres of forests, farms, businesses, and homes from going up in smoke near Detroit, Oregon.
Their “breaks” look like this – simply lying on the pavement to catch their breath and make sure they have enough food and water to go out again.
At the end of one particularly long day, the men were pretty much slap-happy – the kind of mood you get in when you can’t function much so you just have to laugh.
That’s when they were caught on video doing something unexpected.
They were singing.
Take me out to the fire.
Take me out to the line.
Bring me some sawyers and hazel hoes.
I don’t care if I ever get home….!
The song was set to the tune of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame.”
Root, root, root for the red crew
You know we want the most days.
For it’s 1, 2, 3 tool types out at the old fire line.
The fires this year have consumed over 1 million acres of Oregon.
Governor Kate Brown said annual wildfires might burn half the acreage but generally don’t pose this kind of threat or cause this level of calamity. The fires are even burning underground in a seemingly impossible hellscape for residents who have recently seen businesses, apartment complexes, homes, and mobile homes in areas turned to ash and melted frames.
At least 10 people have died, including a firefighter and a 13-year-old boy who perished in the flames clutching the family dog.
The Grizzly Firefighters know exactly what’s at stake every time they go out there. The 20-person crew had been in the Detroit, Oregon area (which is equidistant from Bend, Eugene, and Portland) for 10 days when the video was taken.
Hiner himself hails from Sweet Home and has been on fire duty in his home state since 1996, never missing a season. His own family was forced to evacuate their home.
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“Yes my house was in danger,” he told CNN. “Thankfully, we made it out OK.”
His wife, children, and dogs had to stay away for 4 days, but they’re safe.
Not everyone on his crew was so lucky.
“I would say over half the crew had our families evacuated. We’re pretty sure at least one of us lost a house,” Hiner told KATU News.
The crew was handling the Lionshead Fire, which as of September 23rd had grown to over 203,000 acres and was only 15% contained. They had to call in 400 additional firefighters to assist the personnel already on the ground and in the air, according to KATU News.
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The fire is burning low to the ground, with winds causing unexpected shifts – reports of rain coming in are just as likely to cause landslides as they are to bring relief.
It’s the very definition of a disaster.
To merely read about it from far away is a huge privilege.
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On the ground, they’re just doing what they can to stay alive and keep up morale for another day – hence the song.
“This is what they do. When they’re out there chucking line, is you start singing songs,” Hiner said.
Hey, whatever it takes.
Be sure to scroll down below to see the viral video of the singing firefighters.
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Source: Facebook – Theodore W Hiner, KATU News, CNN, KATU News