Indian firefighters hope for best

Jace Radke

Monday, June 5, 2000 | 10:44 a.m.

PAHRUMP -- When the wildfire handcrews left their Crow and Cheyenne Indian reservations Thursday for Pecos, N.M., they expected to be fighting the 25,094-acre Viveash Fire.

Instead they found themselves sitting as reserve crews for three days after thunderstorms rolled in.

The rain helped bring the fire under control, but it also meant no pay for the reserve crews. The Crow and Cheyenne firefighters hope their luck changes after flying to Las Vegas Sunday to join in the effort to contain the Buck Springs Fire near Wheeler Pass west of Mount Charleston.

If Crow firefighter Walter Old Elk Jr.'s experience Sunday night is any indicator, the crew is in for a busy couple of days that will make the trip worthwhile. He walked into a Pahrump convenience store after arriving Sunday and hit a royal flush on a video poker machine to win $1,202.90.

"I guess this was the fast way to make back some of that money we lost in New Mexico," Old Elk said. "The rain took our paychecks there, but I don't think it will rain here."

Five crews including Old Elk's headed up to battle the fire Sunday about 9:30 p.m. in an effort to push the fire back in the cooler night temperatures.

Confidence and a laid-back attitude permeated the firefighter base camp at a park next to the Pahrump fire station, where tents were set up and crews checked through equipment, rested or played horseshoes.

"We're here to put out this little fire and save Las Vegas," one Crow firefighter said as he walked into the park.

Firefighters in the park were decked out in heavy, fire-resistant, yellow Nomex shirts and green pants. They said they have been ready for wildfire season for a while, but Mother Nature hasn't cooperated in Montana.

"We had snow in the mountains of Montana two weeks ago," said Darold Foote, a Cheyenne firefighter who is training to be a crew boss. "It will be a hot summer up there eventually, but we thought we would see some action in New Mexico. It was a lot of hurry up and wait down there, but I think the guys are ready for some work and it looks like we'll get it here."