‘This is our family’: Fire boss crew stays ready to douse wildfires throughout Inland Northwest

Preparing and waiting are big parts of the aerial firefighting business, but adrenaline takes over when pilots get the call to douse a wildfire.

“When I’m putting my seat belt on, I can feel my heart’s racing,” said Jack Cuthbert, a fire boss pilot at Dauntless Air.

Cuthbert can be seen fighting fires from the friendly skies while crew chiefs Tracey Moore and Jim Toynbee are responsible for loading, fueling and maintaining the single-engine scooper fire bosses for Dauntless Air pilots like Cuthbert.

Cuthbert, 52, of Halifax, Nova Scotia; Moore, 57, of southern Arizona; Toynbee, 56, of Post Falls; and other Dauntless Air personnel worked as a team earlier this month at the Deer Park Airport.

Based in Appleton, Minnesota, Dauntless Air is a private aerial firefighting company that works in coordination with on-the-ground firefighters and other aerial forces to contain fires, according to its website.

“Our job here is to support ground-crew people,” Moore said. “That’s our whole mission in life … they are the people who are putting these fires out and we are there to support them.”

The job requires a unique set of skills and isn’t without hardships for pilots and crew chiefs alike.

Hotels become their home and coworkers their family during wildfire season, which could start as early as March and run through October.

Cuthbert said he left home in early April, a month earlier than expected, and has not seen his wife since. He said he was able to see his daughter earlier this month while he was staying overnight in Olympia.

“We spend so much time together, this is our family,” Moore said.

Moore said his wife and dogs were able to join him in his recreational vehicle in Deer Park.

“I’m one of the fortunate ones that gets to actually see his family every once in a while,” Moore said.

The trio said they have to make do with phone calls and FaceTime conversations with family members.

“I couldn’t imagine it without FaceTime,” Cuthbert said.

Toynbee, who has a wife and adult children, said he is used to being away from family. He is retired from law enforcement and has fire service experience prior to Dauntless Air.

“My family’s experienced over 30 years of missed birthdays, holidays, all that stuff,” Toynbee said. “But we’ve all adapted to it, so I mean, this is kind of natural for me.”

Moore said planes need to be ready for takeoff by 9 a.m. each day. At 9:30 a.m., they go inside the tanker base at the airport and get briefed on weather conditions, wildfire danger levels and fires in the region.

Moore called the airport an “aerial fire station,” with pilots ready to be called to a fire until dark. Pilots can fly up to eight hours a day.

“If they’re flying eight hours, they’re done,” Moore said. “They’re hungry, they’re tired.”

Moore said pilots will return to the airport, and he and Toynbee fuel the plane, load it with water and fire retardant and conduct basic maintenance. He said crew chiefs will also ensure the pilot is OK physically and mentally before they return to fight a fire.

After pilots return for the night, the crew chiefs refuel the plane, decontaminate it of invasive species from water scooping and prepare it for the next day. Sometimes, crew chiefs will work until 10:30 p.m., Moore said.

He said crews will work 10 or 12 consecutive days and get two days off. The days off are often dedicated to chores, like laundry, and driving to the next base.

The schedule can be arduous, but Cuthbert said he enjoys the ample time off after the fire season.

While preparation is key, there’s a lot of down time at the base while waiting for a fire call, Moore said.

The men said they turn to exercise, cellphones, computers and Netflix. Moore said they also like to wash and wax the planes during that time.

“On days like today, you’re trying to stay cool and stay rested because when you need to work, you need to work,” Moore said on a hot July 8 day.

Occasionally, they barbecue, which backfires when they get a call for service.

“That’s a sure way to get a fire,” Cuthbert joked. “Throw an expensive piece of meat on a barbecue. Then the phone will ring.”

Paperwork is an essential task when not preparing or flying.

“Every pilot, every crew chief knows there’s so much paperwork associated with aviation,” Cuthbert said. “A lot of that time you’re making sure the hotel expenses are done properly and the plane’s paperwork’s all in order.”

Cuthbert said sometimes he’ll go 10 or 15 straight days without a fire call. He said the crew is like insurance because it’s not needed every day.

“On days where we’re sitting around, we’re paid for what we can do, not for what we’re doing,” he said. “But once it’s burning, we’re being paid for what we can do.”

Moore said pilots will be in the air in 10 minutes after they’re requested.

The adrenaline rush hits but then quickly recedes when he enters the cockpit, a familiar place after years of flying, Cuthbert said. He even flew for the late Paul Allen, who cofounded Microsoft and owned the Seattle Seahawks.

Cuthbert said his heart rate increases again when he drops down to a lake to scoop water. He’s done it countless times, but he still has to adjust to each body of water and the conditions.

The plane skims across the water and can load up to 800 gallons in about 15 seconds, Cuthbert said.

“We call it the rodeo button,” he said. “To scoop, it is 15 seconds of rodeo. Sometimes you’re right on it and it’s an easy ride. Other times you’re like, ‘What the?’”

Cuthbert then drops water on the flames at about 110 mph and 60 feet in the air.

“That’s what makes this (plane) so efficient is they can put down copious amounts of water in a short amount of time,” Moore said.

Sometimes, an “emergency dump” is required if he flies too close to the tree line, Cuthbert said.

“There’s a whole bunch of different factors that you calculate into every scoop and every drop,” he said.

Weather conditions, such as strong winds or thunderstorms, can ground the planes.

“We’re mission-oriented,” Cuthbert said. “We want to help those people on the ground. We want to protect those homes.”

But there’s a “fine line” when weighing that desire to help with dangerous conditions, he said.

Moore said Dauntless Air has planes stationed throughout Washington and in other parts of the country. The company contracts with state and federal agencies, like the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

While stationed in Deer Park, Moore said he could be asked to move to another base at any time.

“It could change tomorrow,” Moore said. “It could change in the next hour. We could be sent anywhere and gladly do it.”

Cuthbert is a relief pilot so he moves from base to base, giving pilots days off and working with different crew chiefs each time.

He said Saturday he was in Omak for four days, Richland for one, then Coeur d’Alene for three days. He said he’ll rotate through those bases the rest of the summer.

Cuthbert said the job is rewarding because they help protect people’s homes, businesses, livestock and public infrastructure.

Moore agreed.

“That’s where the gratification comes from, when you get to do your job and you feel like you’re contributing to helping people,” Moore said.

He also said he works for the pilots, ensuring he does everything he can to make sure they are safe.

“We love each other,” Moore said.