"I remember the fire getting up into the trees and racing through the crowns, and somebody yelling for us to get out of there, and so I just went running back through the forest to the opening, and before I left the forest itself, I looked back and took my camera out and took a picture. To this day, that's the best photo I've ever taken of fire."
While I was working with Abert Squirrels, a fire engine came by and they were short a person or two, and the fire was just getting started, and they asked if I could jump on and go fight this fire with them, and I said, "Sure, why not?" So I dropped the squirrels I was holding at the time, and the squirrels ran off, and I ran off to go chase fire. As it turned out, it was what I consider a baptism by fire. And by that I mean I was literally going into a dense forested area that I'd never been in before, and trying to beat down the fire, build a fire line to stop it from moving into the meadows that you drive through as you go to the North Rim.
It was the most impressive experience I've ever had in my life… up to that point. I remember the fire getting up into the trees and racing through the crowns, and somebody yelling for us to get out of there, and so I just went running back through the forest to the opening, and before I left the forest itself, I looked back and took my camera out and took a picture. To this day, that's the best photo I've ever taken of fire. The first fire I ever fought turned out to be a baptism by fire, but also produced the nicest photo I've ever taken.