Shaughn Maxwell knew he had to head home.
A massive wildfire — which would become bigger and fiercer than any he had ever seen in 27 years as a firefighter — threatened the Methow Valley in rural Eastern Washington.
It scorched much of his childhood stomping grounds, including a favorite spot along the Elbow Coulee where he used to sled in the winter. His parents still live alongside the Twisp River a few miles outside of town.
Maxwell, a captain with Snohomish County Fire District 1, has been a paramedic since 1993. A year ago, he returned to the Methow Valley to help with the Carlton Complex fire, which was until this summer the largest wildfire in state history.
On the morning of Aug. 19 he called the director of the Aero Methow Rescue Service to check on conditions and offer moral support.
That afternoon, as the fire took a turn for the worse, the director called him to ask if he could come to help. That same day, three U.S. Forest Service firefighters were trapped in their vehicle and died.
Maxwell approached Fire Chief Ed Widdis at Fire District 1 headquarters south of Everett.
“Go help them,” the chief told him.