Miller Place Grad Pat Maynes Fights Arizona Wallow Fire

After graduating from Miller Place in 2006 and earning his bachelors degree from Marist College in 2010, Pat Maynes moved out to Colorado to work with a Fire Department 40 miles outside of Denver.

Just over a year later, Maynes found himself in Arizona, facing an over 450,000 acre Wallow Fire he called "awe inspiring."

Before heading to Arizona, Maynes worked in Fuels Mitigation throughout the winter thinning out trees on private properties to reduce the risk of a fire running through the property. In mid-May the entire Platte Canyon fire crew did a two-week refresher to prepare everyone for the upcoming season, which made them available to respond to wildfires throughout the entire country. It was that Sunday that they were called to the Bear Fire outside of Trinidad, Colo. 

"We were there for about five days and then were re-assigned to the Salt Fire outside of La Junta, Colo. for a day...near the New Mexico border," Maynes said. "At that point we were dispatched to help with Wallow Fire in Arizona, which we stayed at until June 14th."

Maynes and his crew spent 14 days fighting the fire that is officially the biggest in state history. Nearly 10,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes and 11 structures have been burned. The fire has impacted over 450,000 acres in Arizona and almost 5,000 acres in New Mexico.

"Compared to to other fires I have been on in my short career, this one was incredible in size; not just the physical size of the fire but also the amount of personnel and resources that were committed to the fire fighting effort," Maynes said. "When the fire is that size, coming up with a big picture strategy is important because we're almost unable to stop it where it currently is, instead you need to look at a point where you can stop it several days in the future. "

Around the town of Greer, Ariz. Maynes' crew began a burning operation against the back of houses in an effort to eliminate the fuels between the houses and the head of the fire and prevent the main fire from burning those homes. Maynes said that an effort like that so close to a neighborhood is somewhat atypical of wildland fires.

"The stress factor is elevated due to the fact that you are trying to save people's homes," he said.

Maynes and his crew timed out at 14 days, left Arizona and are now back in Colorado where they have a few days off this weekend before becoming available again to respond to a fire. Maynes is unsure where he will head next, but is enjoying what he does and plans on sticking it out for the time being.

"I am unsure of [how long, but] I am certainly enjoying what I'm doing right now so I might see where this will take me."