Everything that has followed the training in Chicago has been a wild ride with some big ups and downs, it wasn’t all bad but it was definitely not how I pictured my first month of fieldwork (which I suppose is fitting for the job).
My first week in the Lincoln NF was amazing! The whole team consists of silly gooses and sweethearts which made acclimating to the new area much easier than I had anticipated. We spent most of the week tagging along with the wildlife crew on Mexican Spotted Owl and various Hawk surveys to get a better feel for the region and the types of terrain we’d be facing this season. We apparently got to experience a New Mexico Birder’s fantasy when we spotted a mating pair of Zone Tail Hawks and a Black Hawk within just a few hours of each other, and I had seen many pictures of the Mexican Spotted Owl, but it is not the same and getting stared at by one in real life.

I felt ready for the second week of work, we had found a good handful of plants we wanted to assess for collection and were ready to do some more in-depth scouting, but Monday didn’t quite turn out that way. We started the day like normal, and were invited to join on a night owl survey (which involved hiking with mice and getting a much closer look at the owls) so of course we were interested. This meant we took a good break after lunch to catch up on rest and were to return to the office at 4pm to commence the evening survey. We had heard of a small 5-acre fire starting that morning but didn’t think much of it as we heard no updates. I went to take a nap and rest up for the night’s adventures, but as soon as I lay down, a strong gust of wind blew my curtains open. This wind was immediately followed by sirens and helicopters.
I left my room to find the rest of my housemates already gathered in the living room, I asked if the sirens were for the fire and all they said was “look outside”.

It looked apocalyptic. We had a clear view from our front yard, and it appeared as if it were only miles from the house. We were on “SET” status, and soon we were on “GO”. We packed up all our belongings in less than an hour and we left. We were one of the first areas to be evacuated. I didn’t know what was going to happen but seeing the the mushroom cloud from 100 miles away was not the greatest comfort. We spent the rest of the week working from home and checking the wildfire apps every 30 minutes to see it reach closer and closer to town. It was devastating. Nearly all the areas we had just visited in our first week were within the red lines, and within the week, over 1000 structures in the area were lost. I honestly wasn’t sure if I was going to have a job after this, or if I would be moved to an entirely new place. But Ruidoso and the Lincoln team are a tough bunch.
By the next week, we were sent to the Guadalupe Ranger District which is about an hour from Carlsbad NM. We ended up here for a week and a half surrounded by rocks, rattlers and ocotillos that happened to be green and in bloom (which I’d never thought I’d see). This was a whole new adventure, we learned about new desert plants and had the opportunity to explore a cave not open to the public, as well as experience an oasis in the middle of the Chihuahuan desert that I would have thought was folklore if I hadn’t seen it myself. It was an amazing opportunity granted by the most unfortunate of circumstances.
We get to return to the Smokey Bear office this coming week, and this whole experience has made me unbelievably grateful for what I have and those around me. I am part of an amazing team and could not have asked for a better group to work with. I am more aware than ever of the importance of the work we are here to do and am ready to help the community I am so newly a part of in any way I can.