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This guy and guys like him literally saved our town and my house so much respect for them

dang these people are the first you'd think you'd pay a lot... respect.

I was a wildland firefight for 10 years, 5 of those on San Juan Hotshots. This is one of the best videos done on how it really is to be a seasonally federal firefighter, shitty pay, no benefits, incredibly long hours of exhausting work. Had to get out of it because my body was falling apart and I was only 28, luckily I got a degree in the off seasons to fall back on. Good work Vice

I never thought that McDonald’s would pay better than the federal government.

As a former firefighter I just want to say that this has always been a problem the only difference is that it’s getting more attention now because of all the wildland fires going on. something that they didn’t mention in the video that is important is that “Hot shots” are actually the special forces of firefighting but yet Macdonald’s employees get paid more and they actually fight the fire directly meaning that they literally are in front of the fucking train and the only thing that is stoping the fire from destroy your home is them.

Thank you all for the comments and support. We can’t tell you how much it means to us. Our biggest hurdle is getting the word out to more folks. We would be eternally grateful if you could share this video with people, so we can increase the education and move towards positive improvements. You all are our voice, please help us get this out there. Much love from the Eldorado Hotshots 🙏🏻

Worked with the Eldorado Hot Shots on a fire this season and they are one hell of a crew.! Wildland seems majestical until you're digging line for 16 hours a day for 14-21 days straight and only getting paid $15.00/HR. I personally think it's great for season or two. You get to explore the country and challenge yourself mentally and physically while meeting some of the best people you will ever meet. Throughout my experience, it has been hell of a ride but have realized this isn't for me. I have mad respect for anyone who does this job. It takes a selfless, dedicated, fit, and mentally strong individual to do this as a career. Mad respect for all the wildland firefighters out there! They def do not do it for the pay! -Semper Fi

Damn, that girl is so young yet so mature. More adults should be like that

First responders of any kind are grossly under payed and appreciated in this country :/

I laughed when my friend told me he wanted to be a hotshot, because I didn’t know that was a real occupation. Now I’m finishing up my emt cert and plan on going into wild land firefighting myself. The thought of helping to protect the state and country I love makes me happy. Much respect to hotshots ✊🏽

8:34 when you find out your Div is super chill.

I’m a structural firefighter and I have mad respect for Men and Women in the Wildland service. Thank you for your hard work.

These guys need to be paid more for their service fr fr

For such an important, life threatening job, they should be paid well . Its a shame that they arent happy with their pay.

"We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." --Native American proverb

Crazy, the amount of stress and pressure these guys endure on a daily basis and continue to be the absolute best of the best

Nothing quite describes the feeling of driving/hiking into a fire area when everyone you see is evacuating while you & ur crew/squad bump Metallica, Search & Destroy etc... I could go on & on😂

God bless this guy and his crew. A hot shot is the toughest of the tough.

Just got back from two weeks on the Creek Fire. I'm not a hotshot, but I have the utmost respect for these guys. Love my job!

Such brave & hard working people. We would be in such bad shape here in Southern California without them. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service. You deserve to be paid so much more than you get for the sacrifices you and your family make just to keep the rest of us safe. God bless yall.

Shout to all the Hotshot crews. My brother just left the Army infantry after 6 years and jumped into Millcreek Hotshots out of Socal in WY currently fighting a fire.

From a firefighter in Pittsburgh hats off to all you men an woman out there fighting these wildland fires bless you all stay safe

Thanks man that was my area you were coming to defend appreciate all you firefighters do got friends in the u.s. forest service I respect what you guys do

It’s sad how influencers that have the audacity to complain on how hard it was to make tik tok’s video make more compared to these folks

Keep fighting peacefully honorably without ceasing hot shots We the People need heroes in these times of darkness I can only imagine what you go through and I thank you for your heroic service

My thoughts and Prayers remain with them. Thank you for all your hard work and sacrifices.

2 years a hotshot for Angeles National Forest---1965 and 1966. One at Chalao the other at Oak Grove. Some of the best times of my life.

Mad respect for these men. Thank you for all the hard work.

I wish there was more for us to do to help them. I truly have so much respect for these guys that it sorta makes me sad in a way. my baby brother wants to be a firefighter and I just hope if he ever does become one, he stays safe. God Bless all of you who work in these conditions and may God be with you all.

Bruh they literally earned the title of 'HotShot'

4:31 Tommy Caldwell, one of the best rock climbers in the world, casually driving the crew out

I’m getting so sick and tired of living in this charcoaled state. It seems like every year I get evacuated while the fires get closer to our house we’re still trying to rebuild from the tubes fire in 2017.

Underrated and under appreciated people. Nothing but respect to these men and women ❤️

Thank you for the jobs you do! And many Blessings for all of you and Wildland Firefighters every where!

Prayers for the two hotshots injured in the Silverado fire in CA yesterday 🙌🏼

Worked with these guys on a fire in California this year. Best men around!

These are the type of people that America is well known for. Keep up the fight and I wish them all a safe return home.

Thank you for everything you do. From the east coast. Keep your heads up♡

So very grateful for these young people!!! They are truly heroes!!! Thanks for pointing out how little that they make for their intense work!!! Bless all fire fighters!!!🙏🙏🙏

The USFS needs to examine UBI and restructuring living conditions for their firefighters. Things like healthcare and housing vouchers, and ways to prevent burnout. Wake up forest service.

hotshots don’t get enough respect there some of the bravest men walking the earth

Nothing but respect for these men. Here in the south East we don’t have the big fires but I’m sure you could recruit many young men here. Thanks for all y’all do. It means more than you know. Be safe gentlemen.

much love and respect to all the hotshot crews out there!

Great job guys !! Salute

If the hotshots are interesting to y'all and ya want to learn more about them, I'd recommend reading 'Fire' by Sebastian Junger. The first two stories in it are about Hotshots in California and Colorado in the 90's.

he's a strong man, and his family is strong too

Thank you for your service and sacrifice. These fires 🔥 are unbelievable.!

Respect

I just passed my S130 field day at 17, looking to get a job with a crew this summer and I couldn’t be more excited

Respect to everyone in this world doing something to help out everyone in some type of way

This was a good video thank you for sharing this journey I want to know more about wild firefighters 🚒 keep up the awesome work y’all 💯💪🏾

Awesome video! It truly shows how hard these men work and sacrifice to keep innocent people safe.

Aaron was the man. Talked to him a few times when he was the old sup. he inspired me to join.

I am a hotshot working for fulton in glennville CA. We are not considered firefighters when it comes to pay thus creating such a low wage. I miss my daughter from May to November but I love my job and the guys around me

Thank you from Salinas Ca

It seems that the exact same thing that happened in Australia last year is happening in the U.S. We experienced excessive record breaking temperatures along with the ever present lightening strikes. Now it's happening in the Northern Hemisphere. The firefighters we have that tackle bushfires outside of the large cities are all volunteers who dedicate their time for endless periods that they're needed without pay. I live in a high risk zone and have suffered from too many bushfires that the smell of smoke is sickening. It's the price we pay for living in such beautiful environments unfortunately. Over Summer is when we endure electrical storms which bring with them the dry lightening strikes. I do want to thank all of those from the U.S., Canada, New Zealand and even Fiji that came to our rescue last Summer. My condolences to the crew of the firefighting plane from the U.S. that crashed into the Australian Alps. We will never forget their sacrifice. I do hope you are able to get on top of your fires asap. Best of luck Hotshots and all others who dedicate their time to helping in various ways. 🇦🇺

Thank you vice for bringing a problem with our federal government to light. This is good journalism unlike some of your other videos. Note to California- down here in the southeast we understand what forest management is- controlled burns, rolling timber harvests, thinning, and timber plot spacing. By the environmentalists wanting to preserve the forest by not touching it- they are creating much more damage to the atmosphere, wildlife, and ecosystem. A forest fire pumps out an astronomical amount of greenhouse gasses compared to cars, power plants, etc. If you properly maintained your forest life cycle you wouldn't have these insane fires.

thank you for your service and your sacrifice!

I felt exhausted just watching them digging those hand lines. Until you've had to do it (and we don't do much dry fire fighting in Australia) you can't get a good idea of how hard that job is. Much respect!

God bless you firefighter

I'd enjoy if Vice Australia did one of these on the aussies aswell.

Respect. Thanks for the report

Lived in Plumas county for 4 years studying forestry and fire sciences and outdoor recreation. It was gnarly there even 10 years ago in college. Met a bunch of hotshots back then. Gnarly folk.

6:47 "A, This job is really difficult. Two..." LOL

The interviewers helmet was backwards the entire interview and I’m dyin😂

A true man. With an amazing family aswell.

whoever was in charge of story development and building up the family side did phenomenal. I’m so connected to these people and I only know them from this 12 minute video

Great documentary!! I want more content about hotshots!

Thank you for your service bro I live in Cali and I’m grateful to have ppl like you I hope your enjoying life Brotha not much to say but salute to you big dawg 💪🏽🙏🏽 Thanks again.. Firefighters need more recognition

Hats off to these firefighters and their families - thank you.

Thank you to all the fire fighters throughout the world 🌎 ❤️

“A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people. ” ― Franklin D. Roosevelt

I've been structural firefighting for 4 years now, I'm going to be finished my wildland course here on a week or two. Idk how.long I'll last but someone has to do it.

I was on the McKinney Fire. Much respect for my fellow Wildland firefighters

Bless your heart

God bless him and his family!

So fellow Californians, how do we get these guys more money? This is crazy.

Was also on the North Complex (West Zone) on a CALFIRE Type 1 Handcrew from Sept8 to Late October. That fire was one of the most horrific fire I’ve experienced.

I was at the august complex. My unit in Washington got activated to work with the fire crews. Amazing experience

As a former forest fire fighter in BC, Canada I know how how hard the work is and if done right is dirty, hard work with decent pay at least in Canada. While the US forest service has set the standard for forest fire fighting I have had the opportunity to work with a couple of hotshot crews training in BC to learn how we fight fires and they were blown away as to how efficient we were in fighting fires and how quickly we put them out for the most part. The big difference is US fire fighters have access to a huge amount of manpower while Canadian fire crews operate with smaller crews and rely heavily on helicopters with Bambi buckets, water bombers and chemical bombers to help out.

I have been blessed to be able to work as a municipal(structure) firefighter and can assure you that these Wildland hot shots are savages. That is some hard work.

thats intense.. much respect

I respect all you brother and sisters. I know how much you are sacrificing to serve and protect communities. God bless you all.

My dad fought those kind of fires, for 35 years , in Northern Ontario and anywhere else in North America his crew was needed. It's incredibly dangerous and those brave men risk their lives for our towns, our forests, and all other ecosystems to conserve out land and biodiversity . Stay safe and God bless

These guys fly under the radar. Real heros. People dont understand how much forest we have on the west coast. Most of it Fed owned. Ironic...

The best times in my life, was being a wildland firefighter. Being on the road with my Bros helping save properties and life priceless. For me I loved fighting fire in the high altitude of the Sierra Nevadas in California. Something about the solitude and the smell of wood burning, the sound of the wind and the love of my life the chainsaw. God bless all the boys that we lost over the year's. We are proud of you. Wish I could go back and get on that hike with my saw and my brothers

Guys, thank you for the Amazing job you do!!! God Bless you all!!!

I’ve done this kind of work , 5 years ago being in a fire camp up in Carson city. It was quite the experience and I would give anything to be employed like them .. with their money’s worth.

I’m a hot shot. I love this job and the experiences I get to go through.

Also one thing not mentioned in this video is that these guys aren't even called firefighters by the forest service or bureau of land management. They are hired as forestry technicians. Thats some bullshit right there.

Thanks to all of you and your families

Can vice do one on smoke jumpers?

*USA* should deploy troops to control fires in California ... It'll be more sensible

Grew up in Cameron Park, right now I’m on what is most likely my last assignment this season as a Wildland Firefighter. Can’t wait for next season.

I watched this right after watching the video about private firefighters and it honestly just highlights the need for those companies.

Getting paid more to flip burgers than save lives 🤯

*Lord protect Firefighters* 🚒👩‍🚒

Props.. thank you

Solid special report. 👍🔥