The Hotshot Wake Up
Science

The Hotshot Wake Up

by The Hotshot Wake Up

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/

100 episodes
EN-US language
All Episodes
1
Pre Season Jitters: A Conversation About Training, And What My First Day On A Hotshot Crew Was Like. Minnesota Woman Fined $150K For NOT Calling In A Wildfire.
37:58 Mar 20, 2026
2
Record Wildfires In Nebraska, Big Fires Burn In South Dakota, And The Southwest Is Next. The Morrill Fire Nears 600,000 Acres. Fire season is fully underway.
56:23 Mar 15, 2026
3
From Smokejumper To Congressional Candidate. Sam Forstag joins the show to talk wildfire issues and his upcoming election.
52:39 Feb 12, 2026
4
New Meals Ready To Eat "MRE" Health Study Released: It's Worse Than You Could Imagine. Heavy metals, banned veterinary drugs, Glyphosate and Trenbolone.
42:55 Feb 6, 2026
5
4 Suspects Arrested In Chile After Widespread Destruction And 21 Fatalities From Wildfires. Zeke Lunder joins for a broader conversation of what is happening on the ground.
58:09 Jan 24, 2026
6
Congress Votes: Should Firefighters Be Able To Shoot Down Drones Over Wildfires? CAL FIRE Test Fully Autonomous Wildfire Vehicles. New study on wildfire smoke and pregnancy.
41:28 Jan 21, 2026
7
Department Of Interior Officially Creates The United States Wildland Fire Service. Transition plans and authorities announced.
47:11 Jan 12, 2026
8
One Year After The Palisades Fire: Has Anything Changed, What Have We Learned? We need to let operators operate.
59:12 Jan 7, 2026
9
Forest Service Plans To Move D.C. Staff To Salt Lake City As Part Of Reorg Plans. Senators Pen Letter To Chief Schultz Over Hiring And Project Work Numbers.
43:24 Dec 10, 2025
10
CEO Of Bridger Aerospace, Sam Davis, Breaks Down The 2025 Wildfire Season, Their Expansion Into Spain, And The Future Of The Wildfire Aviation Company.
53:27 Dec 5, 2025
11
A Happy Thanksgiving Episode: Things We Can All Be Thankful For As Wildland Firefighters And Their Loved Ones.
30:25 Nov 27, 2025
12
Historic Wildfire Costs During A Near Record Slow Season In Montana, Why? Full Reports On Broken Arm During Rolling Attack In TX And Jump Injury In MT.
1:03:01 Nov 24, 2025
13
The 2025 Wildfire Season By The Numbers: Fires, Acres, Aircraft, Crews, Drone Incursions, Equipment, UTFs, Cancellations, And More.
39:49 Nov 20, 2025
14
Recap Of Today's Senate Hearing On The Palisades Fire. Homeowners Testify On Their Experiences And Loss.
39:09 Nov 14, 2025
15
Some Forest Service Employees Now Working Without Pay. Oregon Power Company Facing Bankruptcy After $55B In Wildfire Lawsuits. $48M raised for wildfire sprinkler company.
38:32 Nov 7, 2025
16
The Crazy Story Behind The Ninetyeight Fire Incident. Updates On Shutdown Pay Funding And USWFS Unification And Chief.
1:12:03 Nov 1, 2025
17
PNW Continues To Burn. Dozer Rollover, Engine Rollover, Tree Strike Update, And Thinking On Your Feet On The Fireline. Also, a conversation about life lately.
1:11:10 Sep 14, 2025
18
Building The Next Generation Of Wildland Firefighters With Bryan Kerns. Bryan's work in bringing wildfire into the classroom earned him the 2025 Tennessee teacher of the year.
58:36 Sep 13, 2025
19
The Future Of Wildfire Detection, Monitoring, Modeling, And Post Burn Analysis. OroraTech CEO Martin Langer. OroraTech just signed a deal with the State of Idaho for wildfire satellite services.
1:04:06 Aug 11, 2025
20
The Wildfire Workforce, Culture, And The National Wildfire Service: A Conversation With Angeles National Forest Fire Chief Robert Garcia.
1:12:51 Aug 4, 2025
21
Rapid Extraction Module Support Teams (REMS). What's All The Fuss About? A Conversation With Robert Sepulveda Jr. Robert is a REMS Leader and helped develop the policy and quals needed for REMS Teams.
59:56 Aug 3, 2025
22
Powerlines Still Energized, Mismanaged Property, Altering Records, And Worse. New CA Lawsuit Points The Finger At The State. Gabriel Mann discusses the new allegations surrounding the Palisades Fire.
1:11:55 Jul 10, 2025
23
6 Months Since The Palisades Fire: What Happened, And Why? Reporter Brianna Sacks Joins To Discuss The Events That Day. We discuss the potential cause, and trying to get her family out in time.
1:08:18 Jul 9, 2025
24
The 4 Biggest Lies In The Wildfire Industry, With San Bernardino County Fire Chief Dan Munsey. And the 4 truths...
1:05:26 Jul 3, 2025
25
20 Year Old Wess Roley Named As Shooter In Idaho Wildfire Ambush. New Details Emerge About The Suspect. Remembering the Granite Mountain Hotshots.
17:54 Jun 30, 2025
26
Two Confirmed Deaths, Unknown Casualties In Idaho Wildfire Ambush. Law Enforcement Still Taking Active Fire From Unknown Amounts Of Suspects.
11:15 Jun 30, 2025
27
Land Sale Proposal Pulled From Budget Bill. Firefighter Burned In Nevada. Mental Health In The WildFire Workforce With Dani Shedden. How to find positivity in your work.
1:10:42 Jun 29, 2025
28
What's Inside The Proposal To Sell 1.5% Of Public Lands? I Cover This Plan To "Dispose Of" Millions Of Acres. Alaska wildfires pop off, Dozer operator burned in New Mexico.
45:01 Jun 21, 2025
29
Fire In The Sky, Drones For Firing Ops And More: CEO Of Drone Amplified, Dr. Carrick Detweiler. Their IGNIS quadcopter UAS platform is the standard for firing ops across the industry.
38:46 Jun 20, 2025
30
CEO Of Watch Duty, John Mills, Discusses Developing Wildfire Tech And The Future Of The Company.
46:43 Jun 2, 2025
31
USDA And DOI Sign Joint Wildfire Memo. Sec. Rollins Directs Forest Service Wildfire Response In New Order. No Tax On Overtime...?
31:13 May 21, 2025
32
23 Years As A Fire Wife: The Struggles And Joys Of Wildfire Relationships. Brittany Culbertson joins to discuss what it’s like to be a longtime Fire Wife.
1:09:16 May 16, 2025
33
The Timber Executive Orders: Former NEPA Assistant Director For The USDA, Sharon Friedman, Joins To Discuss The Orders.
1:12:11 May 12, 2025
34
Getting Through Critical 80 Healthy, Now What? Sustainable Wellness Through The Fire Season With Jessie Thomas. Jessie is a Former Hotshot, Smokejumper, and now a health and fitness coach.
1:23:44 Apr 27, 2025
35
Living In The Wildland Urban Interface: Insurance Costs Rising, Home Hardening, And Wildfire Risk Maps. Stanford Scholar Michael Wara provides a needed dose of reality.
1:03:29 Apr 24, 2025
36
Yes, There Is A Draft Executive Order For Wildfire. Here Is What's In It. Also, Oregon scraps wildfire risk map and Oklahoma Governor wants dissolve wildfire agency.
1:04:40 Apr 14, 2025
37
California’s Growing Fuel And Wildfire Problem. A Conversation With Zeke Lunder. Fuels mitigation and prescribed fire are key to the solution.
1:01:21 Mar 29, 2025
38
Human Lookouts V.S. The Robots... A 35 Year Lookout Veteran, Zeyn O'Leary Gives His Perspective.
51:49 Mar 19, 2025
39
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.
16:01 Mar 13, 2025
40
Golden Eagles Hotshot Justin DeMoss: The Hotshot Wellness Summit. Mental Health On And Off The Fireline.
59:08 Feb 23, 2025
41
Getting Fire Ready: JJ Shelley Discusses The Importance Of Nutrition, Sleep, And Health Awareness On The Fireline. Former Marine Infantryman and Arizona Wildland Firefighter.
1:01:34 Feb 20, 2025
42
Florida's Fire Season Is Here: Dr. Ludie Bond, PIO For The Florida Forest Service, Explains The Current Conditions On The Ground.
30:00 Feb 17, 2025
43
Update On The Positions Lost Over The Last 48 Hours. NPS, DOI, FS. The Agencies have gone dark with all communications.
47:31 Feb 15, 2025
44
"What's That Pink Stuff?" A Conversation With The Vice Chairman Of Perimeter Solutions, The Sole Retardant Contract Company With The USFS.
45:01 Feb 11, 2025
45
A New Wildfire Agency, Massive Grant Cuts, And A Hiring Freeze. An update on all three.
46:05 Feb 8, 2025
46
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.
39:21 Feb 1, 2025
47
Moving The Forest Service, A Wildland Firefighter Family Support Program, And Water Bombs. The Fix Our Forests Act
31:20 Jan 25, 2025
48
John Gould: 10 Tanker CEO, Alaska Fire Service Manager, Head Of Air Operations For The BLM, And Longtime Smokejumper.
1:12:32 Jan 17, 2025
49
Orange County Fire Chief Brian Fennessy: What Needs To Change After These Historic California Fires. Resource ordering, issues with hydrants, aviation contracts, politics, and more.
56:41 Jan 15, 2025
50
Senator Tim Sheehy: After The Horrific Fires In California, We Need To Fix The Wildfire System To Support All Americans And Address Pay Issues For Our Firefighters.
25:22 Jan 13, 2025
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