Life in a Fire Camp

The fight against the immense Lowman Fire was launched from a small Ranger Station, and more than 2,300 people came from across the country to work on the fire lines. Many lived in fire camps scattered around the Lowman area, self-contained towns quickly set up within safe proximity to a fire to support the entire fire team, from firefighting crews to operators of sophisticated computerized communication systems. These mini-communities provided hot meals, mobile showers, toilets, laundry facilities, and tents for shelter and much-needed sleep, and they also served as depots for maintaining and dispatching fire engines, bulldozers, transport buses, and helicopters. When the fire was at its hottest, three lead planes, 10 helicopters, and 10 air tankers dropped 125,000 gallons of retardant in a single day, while planes equipped to take infra-red photographs recorded hot spots and mapped fire lines each night. Total fire suppression costs for the Lowman Fire during the summer of 1989 reached $11 million.

Idaho · United States