2020 was challenging for Wyoming communities. The year began with ambiguous announcements about employment and the economy. The winter quickly segued into pandemic concerns and panics.
Then forest fires started in California, Oregon, and Washington, followed by those in Idaho, Utah, Montana, Colorado, and, ultimately, Wyoming.
As the wildfire gained ground, the Rawlins Municipal Airport/Harvey Field was a continuous stream of fire-fighting helicopter traffic flying in with water bags dangling below. It was headed by Laurel Wright, the U.S. Forest Service Aviation Operations Manager for the U.S. Department of the Interior water drop operation.
Wright, who was born in Casper and now lives and is based in Idaho, is a trained firefighter and helicopter crew member. She said she loves in a technical sense what she does her associated work environment. She described her frequent travel to assorted fire and environmental assignments which offer a birds’ eye panorama of the beauty of natural environments. She called that a little compensation for being absent from home for much of the time.
“The adventure substituting for a conventional 9 to 5 desk duty is good, too,” she said. She added that absence from the comfort of home and the inherent danger of the job develops personal focus, leadership abilities and personal relationship skills.
Wright introduced Wilson Wetzel, a UH1-1 water-dropping helicopter assigned to work the Seminoe Mountains Bradley fire. Wilson flies for Withrotor Aviation, out of Lakeview, Oregon.
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