On the fire line
Senior Panhandle Helitack firefighter Matthew O’Neill holds a briefing around a helicopter during wildland fire training in June. Wildland Fire Guard school took place at Shoshone Mountain Retreat in Wallace, with 76 trainees for the basic course and 35 advanced students.
Photo courtesy of Idaho Panhandle National Forests
Ashley McCarthy
Wildland firefighting trainees from different agencies recently returned home after honing their firefighting practices with real-life experience.
WALLACE — As an engineer for the Forest Service and former helicopter mechanic in the Marine Corps., for Ashley McCarthy, going through wildland fire training was a return to her roots.
“Being able to take a small group of people who we train with and go in and effectively accomplish the mission, you've got this beautiful camaraderie and everyone's working hard all the time together. There are so many parallels between wildland firefighting and the military,” McCarthy said.
The firefighting academy, called “Guard School” hosted 76 first-year students and 35 advanced students at Shoshone Mountain Retreat in June. McCarthy was one of the advanced participants involved in the multi-agency training.
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