HAMILTON — Students at the Darby-based Trapper Creek Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center have been supporting crews at the North Fork Lost Horse, Butterfly and Black Bear fires south of Hamilton while building job skills of their own.
Trapper Creek was founded in 1966 with the goal of teaching trades to people with a lower income. Today, that is still the case, with time at fire camp being integrated into their learning,
Silas Yankey, an electrical student at Trapper Creek, described the work his team handled at camp.
“We're doing a lot of supply managing," he said, "Making sure everything's nice and tidy for the firefighters so they don't have to worry too much about things going on here. They can get right back out there fighting those fires."
Gary Mitchell, a crew boss at Trapper Creek, has taught at the Job Corps for 18 years and taken students to fires for the past six. He explained that the experience gives students practical lessons they could carry into future jobs.
“We teach them teamwork, communication, learning to wake up early, stay up late," he said. “That's what they're learning here at this fire camp."
Mitchell also said that fire camp has helped students build connections and think about future careers.
That includes Andrew Fox, a masonry student who was inspired to come to Trapper Creek from Colorado after his aunt, who studied there previously.
“After this, I'm planning on doing structure firefighting for the Army," he said. "Being able to have the experience and see what it's like on wildland side, test out everything is a really helpful experience. So I'm really grateful to Trapper Creek for allowing me to come out here and do this."
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