Handling a heavy fire truck on the paved highways of Chelan County is one thing. Handling it in the rugged backcountry is something different.
As summer approaches, Chelan County Fire District 1 wants its firefighters fully trained on driving backcountry brushfire vehicles. To do that, the district got permission from Malaga landowners, and spent Wednesday sending its crews up, and sometimes back down, one steep grade after another.
“It’s a simulation of anything between the wildland and urban interface,” said firefighter Austin Flemens, navigating the rugged course above Fire Station 17 outside Malaga. “So this is a good training technique, especially for our new drivers, to put them through a scenario just like what they would face on the woodland-type fires.”