Seeing news media reports of the large wildfires in California gave Chris Builta a good idea what he could expect, but admits in person the scene was an eye opener.

“It was definitely an experience. When we first got there and drove through Whiskeytown where the fire started, you could see piles of tin roofs…that was where the houses were standing. That was all that was left,” Builta said. “The mailboxes didn’t exist anymore, there were burned out shells of cars. You see it on the news but it got real at that point.”

The Carr Fire, although 100 percent contained, has burned nearly 230,000 acres of land and has already destroyed over 1,000 houses and commercial buildings. There have also been three firefighter fatalities. 

The fire had already been raging for a week before Builta, who is trained as a Wildland Firefighter, received the call he would be heading out to California to fight the large fire. On July 30, he and his crew left early, driving straight through and arriving in California the next evening in time to set up at a camp with air conditioned tents.

The following morning Builta and the crews awoke for a 7 a.m. briefing, then broke into several branches, had another brief followed by task force assignments. From there the crews drove to their destination where they would have one last briefing before being sent out to fight the fire. 

In the days and weeks that followed, his crew was also responsible for preparing their truck. They typically spent 16 hours each day fighting the fire.

“They always made sure we knew what we were doing, what the tasks were, what the weather was forecasted to do,” Builta said. “There were lots of mine entrances all over and they marked everything down to a ‘T’ on the maps so we would know the land.”

Builta said some of first things his crew was responsible for were targeting hot spots where the fire previously burned. Other duties included laying miles and miles of fire hose, clearing brush on roadsides, digging lines for fire breaks, and assisting with air drops of water or flame retardants.

During his month-long stint Builta kept in touch with family regularly with phone calls and by posting updates to his personal Facebook page. Since arriving home in Hillcrest a few days ago, Builta has been catching up with family and friends and plans to resume his regular job but anticipates getting another call in the coming weeks to head west again. 

Although tackling wildfires has been a lifelong dream, experiencing it for the first time and seeing fires on a large scale has changed him.

“It’s definitely brought a new love for fires. A structure fire does something differently versus burning through a forest…shows a new kind of respect for fire…let the fire do its thing. Work with it, and treat it as something that is a living, breathing animal,” Builta said. “It gives me a new respect for what I’m doing, but there is always more training to do. You think you know a lot but when you get there, there’s people that know more than you.”