As wildfires burned throughout Western North Carolina in recent days, many first responders found themselves fighting fires in their own backyards.
BPR spoke with North Carolina Forest Service employees who live in counties affected by the fires.
Bridgit Gallagher
Bridgit Gallagher, a finance section chief, worked on the Black Cove Complex fire. Gallagher lives in the Flat Rock neighborhood of Henderson County, where she and her family could see the fire from their home.
“It was hard to go home after working so hard out here in the field and try to make my husband and my son feel comfortable and get them prepared without there being a level of panic there, she said. “We could see the fire from our house, so they would be concerned. I'd be here working and they'd send me pictures and ask questions: ‘We can see it. There's a lot of smoke. What do we need to do?’”
The situation left little time or space for a mental break, Gallagher said.
“When you're working close to home, you get home and your family still expects things from you. They want to discuss what's going on and be made comfortable with all the things that are happening.”
Ryan Searcy
Ryan Searcy, Polk County ranger, has been on the job 20 years, making him one of the most experienced employees in the Forest Service.
“You don't really think a whole lot about it until you get something that's on this scale,” he said. “And you are concerned, but you're concerned for everybody…I can't just be concerned for just my home.”
His home was safe, and he says his family is used to dealing with wildfires. Still, fighting such a big fire in his community, where several homes were destroyed, takes its toll.
“It's my job to protect property and homes. Even when we lose one under circumstances that we can't control, it still hits home for me,” he said. “I take that as a loss, even though there was honestly nothing that we could have done to prevent those things from the conditions we were in.”
Josh Kujawa
Josh Kujawa, a law enforcement agent with the Forest Service, grew up in Polk County and now lives near Dupont State Forest in Transylvania County.
“I feel like I put more on my shoulders when I'm down here helping this county just because it's where I'm from,” he said. “It's hard to really put it into words, seeing the destruction and seeing these homes that have been lost, you can get emotional about it if you think about it.”
Kujawa’s home was just outside the evacuation zone of the Table Rock fire which crept into North Carolina from Pickens, S.C.
“ I was actually in Swain County fighting a fire when the evacuations were being ordered near my home in Transylvania,” he said.
“I didn't know that at the time because I was out of the loop," he said. "I was out of cell service and so I definitely feel that uncertainty that other people do feel.”
