Fatherhood and Wildland Fire

This Father’s Day, we honor all the dads who work in wildland fire. We interviewed Maxwell Hale, a Squad Leader of Redmond Hotshots, a Tribal citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and a father of three children: a 9 year old boy, 6 year old girl, and a 4 year old boy. Max has attended two of FUSEE’s wildland firefighter retreats, most recently in the fall as a firefighter leader.

Q: What drew you to work in fire? Did your cultural background, community, or relationship to land shape your path into fire work in any way?

Max: In the spring of 2014, I had finished my enlistment with the United States Marine Corps and didn’t really know what I was going to do. In high school I worked on a youth crew for the Tribe doing trail and stream restoration. They had a fire crew, and I remembered them talking to us about it. It seemed like an easy transition because it filled a lot of boxes such as working outside with my hands while utilizing chain of command structure I was familiar with. Being a member of the Tribe but not growing up on Tribal lands, it also helped me build more of a connection to a community I was a part of but hadn’t spent much time with for the past 4 to 5 years.

When you're deep in an especially tough assignment, what keeps you grounded and moving forward?

I find a lot of motivation through the crew itself. Overcoming challenges together creates opportunities for bonding and development.

Wildland firefighting takes you away from your family for long stints of time. How do you stay connected to your kids when you're on a fire assignment, and what do you tell them about why you go?

While out on an assignment I try to call home in the evenings if I have cell service. Sometimes that is not possible for a few days, so I try to at the very least send a message to my wife when I get a chance to let them know where I am and that I love them. The kids are getting old enough now that they are sort of understanding that during the summer I am gone a lot but that I will come back home.

Sometimes my kids will give me a little toy or drawing they did to take with me. I tend to try and talk with my kids at some point during the assignment and ask them what they would like to do with me when I get home, it could be something like going and floating in the river or simply just getting some snacks and having a board game night. This kind of helps me prepare for that transition home with a little bit of a plan and something fun for me and the kids to look forward to too.

What are some of the hardest parts of balancing fatherhood and fire work that people outside the profession may not understand?

Besides just the time away from the family and missing events and milestones is the transition from an incident or fire mentality and back to a father. I feel like I am living two different lives and must quickly change my mindset based on whether I am at work or at home. While out on assignment you adapt to the stressors of being on an incident and how I handle those stressors requires a different approach than when I am at home. I feel like it takes a day or two for me to feel comfortable back in a work routine or at home routine. The unfortunate part about being back home is by the time I feel like I have rested from a hard assignment and have gotten back into the flow of being home, my 3-day R&R is pretty much up, and I am out of the door again for a couple of weeks. Most of the summer I feel like I am always one step behind when it comes to the home front. There is a feeling of guilt when I am home because I am trying to catch up on rest and get things ready to be back at work again in a couple of days when I know my kids and wife want to do things with me. It’s a difficult balance.

Is there anything that you hope your children inherit from watching you do this work?

I just hope that whatever the decide to do in life they learn to take on challenges as they come and take care of themselves so they can continue to have compassion and joy in all they things they want to accomplish.

What example do you hope to set for them as a land steward and wildland firefighter?

I hope they learn an appreciation for our natural spaces. How we take care of the land has direct impacts on us and the future generations. Just as we teach them to love and respect each other, I hope they learn that they are just another member in the community that is the natural world and we need show that some love and respect for our planet.

Is there anything about being a retreat peer leader that helps you be a better firefighter and/or better parent?

Being a parent has really helped me develop my empathy and listening skills. As a retreat peer leader and a squad leader have the same empathy and passion to listen to people translate well.

Do you have any words of encouragement for other fathers and parents on the fireline?

Fire season can seem like it completely consumes all of your being for 6 months don’t forget to take some time in the season to be with your kids. If you are in a position where you can afford to take a few extra days a summer to spend it with your family do it. I used to feel like I had to work every hour they offered me during fire season but I have started taking some time off here and there to do fun summer activities with the kids and it has really improved my personal and professional relationships. I come back to work more rested and ready for the next thing and I get to create some long lasting memories with my kids.