The Hotshot Wake Up

Mar 13 2025 150 ep. 53 mins 101
The Hotshot Wake Up Podcast artwork

A podcast and newsletter by firefighters about wildfire and the world. Crew Supervisor and Ex Hotshot overhead. Call it like it is. Monthly Substack subscriptions go towards supporting this content and helping firefighters in need. https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/

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The Continuing Resolution Deadline, Wildfire Pay, And Wildfire Legislation. Senator Tim Sheehy Joins The Show To Discuss It All. Deadline for passage is Friday night.

Mar 13 2025 16 mins  
On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/With less than 48 hours to pass the Continuing Resolution that locks in base wage increases for wildland firefighters, I welcome Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana to discuss where we are. The House passed the Bill this week, and the Senate is expected to vote on it imminently. Will it pass the Senate?If not, we w

Golden Eagles Hotshot Justin DeMoss: The Hotshot Wellness Summit. Mental Health On And Off The Fireline.

Feb 23 2025 59 mins  
On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/I welcome Justin DeMoss, current Golden Eagles Hotshot and of Hotshot Wellness.Justin is a dedicated humanitarian with a passion for improving physical, mental, and spiritual health. His mission is to help individuals achieve a better quality of life through holistic wellness.He earned a Master’s in Exercis

Getting Fire Ready: JJ Shelley Discusses The Importance Of Nutrition, Sleep, And Health Awareness On The Fireline. Former Marine Infantryman and Arizona Wildland Firefighter.

Feb 20 2025 61 mins  
On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/The last time JJ was on the show, we discussed his study on fire lunches and their effects on the wildland firefighters’ bodies. Since then, he has been working with Hotshot Crews and other fire resources to set them up with the optimal plan to maintain nutrition and health pre, post, and during the fire se

Florida's Fire Season Is Here: Dr. Ludie Bond, PIO For The Florida Forest Service, Explains The Current Conditions On The Ground.

Feb 17 2025 30 mins  
On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/Today, I welcome back Dr. Ludie Bond to discuss the already active Florida Fire season. Conditions across Florida are abnormally dry, and forests are starting to see fire activity they would typically see in March. The recent hurricanes also have impacted fuels, with large swaths of blowdown across Florida co

Update On The Positions Lost Over The Last 48 Hours. NPS, DOI, FS. The Agencies have gone dark with all communications.

Feb 15 2025 47 mins  
On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/Nearly 7,000 probationary employees were terminated in the last 48 hours across the land management agencies and park service. This included researchers at the Missoula Fire Lab, trails crews, biologists, and others. The agencies have yet to communicate on the terminations that have occurred and any actions p

"What's That Pink Stuff?" A Conversation With The Vice Chairman Of Perimeter Solutions, The Sole Retardant Contract Company With The USFS.

Feb 11 2025 45 mins  
On today’s show: To Subscribe 👇https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/I have a conversation with Eddie Goldberg, Vice Chairman Of Perimeter Solutions. Perimeter Solutions holds the sole contract with the Forest Service for retardants and has operations around the globe.We discuss the testing that retardants undergo, their composition, the safety studies that have been conducted

A New Wildfire Agency, Massive Grant Cuts, And A Hiring Freeze. An update on all three.

Feb 08 2025 46 mins  
On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/I cover the proposal for the new National Wildfire Fire Service. This has been discussed for decades, and an effort to finally streamline the wildfire bureaucracy now has bipartisan support. It would consolidate all fire agencies under one umbrella.The USDA sent out a policy email stating that wildland firefi

Hiring Freezes, Funding Freezes, Resignation Offers, And Hypocrisy. How We Got To Where We Are Today. Yes, D.O.G.E. took over your Agency.

Feb 01 2025 39 mins  
On today’s show: To Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ Today, I cover all the wild reforms inside the wildfire agencies over the last week, how they happened, and why. It’s been a whirlwind of policy changes, website deletions, and top-level control of all IT and servers across the Departments. I even got a sneak peek at the current number of resignations sen

Moving The Forest Service, A Wildland Firefighter Family Support Program, And Water Bombs. The Fix Our Forests Act

Jan 25 2025 31 mins  
On today’s show: To Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ I cover the President’s visit to the California wildfires, then dive into the Fix Our Forests Act, which passed the House this week and will likely pass the Senate. Inside this Act is a provision to determine if the Forest Service should be moved to a Western state out of Washington D.C.; they have a

John Gould: 10 Tanker CEO, Alaska Fire Service Manager, Head Of Air Operations For The BLM, And Longtime Smokejumper.

Jan 17 2025 72 mins  
On Today’s Show: To Subscribe 👇 https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/ I speak with John Gould, one of the most respected voices in the wildfire industry. John’s career spans the wildfire world, including being a longtime Alaska Smokejumper, chair of the Federal Fire and Aviation Safety Team, head of Air Operations for the Bureau of Land Management, manager of the Alaska Fir