Sasquatch HI-MT Water, Inc

05/11/2026

Swimming pool filling season has rolled around again. If you would like your pool filled without using your well, give me a call. Available evenings and weekends until we receive a fire dispatch.

01/17/2026

09/22/2025

Interesting how some forest fires burn clean and some burn dirty. There are a lot of unburned areas within the fire perimeter on the Emigrant fire which constitute a dirty burn, but on the other hand, there are still nice green trees in the area.

Also, in all the years I've been doing this, I can't remember a fire with more rain at fire camp. Had several days with measurable amounts of rain falling. The low areas of fire camp actually became a small lake for a few days.

09/18/2025

Emigrant Fire photo op for today. Assigned to helispot 11 at the top of Hills Peak. Photo by Don Purkerson and he said the views are amazing from here.
Fire is currently 32,366 acres with 41% containment.

09/08/2025

Emigrant Fire Update: The truck is assigned to ground support based out of the forward operating base at Diamond Lake. Working 15 to 25 miles north up the Windigo Pass Rd. watering roads for dust abatement to make travel more safe. There are an amazing amount of vehicles traversing that stretch of road each day.

Pickups, SUV's, engines, tenders, lowboy/transports. Working along the side of the road creating fuel breaks are feller bunchers, skidders, masticators and dozers. I didn't get any pictures of actual fire, more of the truck at the fill sites while I was out there minding my own business.

Had a very intense thunderstorm roll in Saturday afternoon in the division I was working and parked for a time directly overhead. Temps dropped from the mid 80's to the low 60's in about a half hour and with that the winds picked up, intense rain and dime sized hail. During this storm all resources were staged at various areas and people sheltered in vehicles for safety. Spent several hours watching a very impressive lightening storm, again directly overhead with thunder you could feel. The lightening stuck a few trees near by and ignited them, those fires were extinguished after the storm moved out of the area. The division next to mine didn't see a drop of rain.

A picture of Mt. Thielsen from fire camp and one of Mt. Bailey with the moon taken about 5:30 am Sunday on my way to breakfast. The first fill site was a set of two small ponds and I had to nose in tight next to the pond and the small bushes in order to draft. The other pictures are the fill site on the other side of the mountain, probably 10 miles from the first site, using a volume pump in the creek. The one with the mirror proves I was actually working, spraying water on the road.

I came back home Sunday night and Don took over this morning picking up where he left off last Friday.

09/02/2025

Update on the Emigrant Fire. Well, our scenery on this fire will look different than the photos in the previous post and as I said on a post from the Flat Fire, you never know where you will end up.

Started in La Pine before noon. After arriving in Oakridge as told, setting up camp, going through the pre-assignment inspection and all the check ins required, we were told to report to ops. Reported as told and ops said they don't want us in Oakridge, they want us on the other side of the fire at Diamond Lake. So now, break down camp, drive back up over Willamette Pass, down highway 97 and on to Diamond Lake.

09/01/2025

After 9 days on the Flat Fire filling engines and skidgeons, based out of the rodeo grounds in Sisters, the truck was demobed yesterday morning and back home mid afternoon. Received a dispatch this afternoon for the Emigrant Fire burning southeast of Oakridge and southwest of Diamond Peak. Current acreage is reported at 21,959 acres. Arrival is scheduled for 1 pm tomorrow, 9-2-25, and we will find out our job assignment at that time.

This is a lightening caused fire that ignited August 24th and is burning through the burn scar from the 2009 Tumblebug Fire which the truck also worked. This fire scar left many dead standing and down trees that were not cleaned up and are now burning again. Fire spread has been rapid through the burn scar with few opportunities for direct control of the fire due to the hazardous snags, steep slopes, limited access and no safety zones for firefighters. Here are a few photos and no I did not take these.

08/27/2025

Flat Fire update: Estimated size is 23,261 acres with 7% containment and critical fire weather forecast this week. Warmer temperatures, thunderstorms and erratic winds.

Current resources committed: 41 hand crews, 91 engines, 42 water tenders, 24 bulldozers, 8 helicopters. Total personnel assigned currently is 1,481.

08/26/2025

Flat fire update: You never know where you'll find yourself or what you'll be doing each day. Currently 21,971 acres and 5% contained. Currently working the west flank of the fire about half way between Lake Billy Chinook and Sisters supplying water to engines and skidgeons.

08/24/2025

I didn’t take this video but it shows some small trees torching on the Flat Fire.