Life as a Fire Lookout | Emily Kachorek | E46
Recorded at 7,250 feet elevation atop Mount Hough near Quincy, California, in Episode 46 the boys talk to Emily Kachorek about her first summer as a fire lookout for the Plumas National Forest. Sitting in the three-story tower for 10 hours a day, 10 days in a row, Emily talks about spending time alone and the inspiration for creativity that comes from solitude. She also talks about her background in biology and conservation and her new gig spotting fires. Prior to being a lookout, Emily raced bikes professionally, was a co-founder of Squid Bikes and her love of cycling, art and creativity blended with a punk rock vibe fostered the vibrant cyclocross scene in Sacramento, along with some of the raddest paint jobs ever rattle-canned onto a bicycle. The boys also do a few listener shout outs and answer questions related to encountering bears on the trail and whether or not you should listen to music while riding.
Saving South Lake Tahoe from the Caldor Fire | Todd Woodward | E12
In August 2021, the Caldor Fire came dangerously close to burning the entire city of South Lake Tahoe. In those critical moments when the fire crested Echo Summit, hotshot wildland firefighter Todd Woodward (@thefirenomad) was at his home in Meyers ready for its arrival despite the entire town having been evacuated. Although he was on injury leave from work after a serious mountain bike accident, Todd saw there were no resources yet dedicated to the fire, took initiative, put on his firefighting gear, jumped on a tiny Kawasaki KLX 110, and rallied the dirt bike around his backyard near the Corral Trail, flagging miles of dozer line in the middle of the night as crown fires were raging around him. When bulldozers arrived to cut line, during the most critical time of the fire, Todd ran point on the entire operation, directing 10 dozers and 3 masticators from the seat of a little dirt bike.