Table Mountain Fire Crew Takes On the Ishi Drills

The week of May 6-10, 2024, CAL FIRE TGU (Tehama-Glenn Unit) hosted the annual Crew Readiness Exercises for firefighter hand crews in the North State. CAL FIRE BTU (Butte Unit) showed up in force, with four California Conservation Corps hand crews from Magalia Fire Center (MAG) led by CAL FIRE personnel and three Firefighter I crews from Table Mountain Fire Center (TAB).
Friday, May 10, we caught up with TAB I as they navigated the exercise. They started with a briefing at Ishi Camp in Paynes Creek, then made their way east on Highway 36 to the drill location. There they performed Tool Out and Fire Shelter Deployment, then embarked on a three mile hike on this hot spring day. The final task was cutting a 100 foot fireline through heavy brush up a hillside in one hour. Crews from all over the North State could be found on the hiking trail and the cut block.
Congratulations to TAB I and all the crews from Butte County, who successfully completed the Exercises and are now Type 1, fireline-qualified crews for the 2024 fire season.