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About Griffin daily news. (Griffin, Ga.) 1924-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 1977)
Firefighters: They love the forest and struggle to protect them By PETER H. KING Associated Press Writer • BIG SUR, Calif. (AP) - Thousands of them have come from almost every one of the 48 mainland states. They are the • firefighters. They range from swaggering rookies lured by adventure to a • hard-bitten veteran who grew up in the Los Padres National Forest, now ravaged by the two week-old Marble-Cone fire. • In their race against the 80,- 000-acre inferno, the fire fighters share only two traits: , they want to protect the forest and they are tired, so tired. R.A. Jones, 24, is an Arizona • State University sociology ma jor in his first season as a fire fighter. He struts about the fire line with a slug of chewing to- *bacco lodged in his lower lip, two canteens on his lowslung belt and two bandanas sticking •out of his silver helmet. “I like going for it,” Jones said. “That and the bucks. It’s manly and it’s fun. People say, • ‘Hey, wow, you’re a firefighter.’ That’s cool.” Short, blond and bandy-leg , ged, Jones speaks with awe of flames shooting 200 feet into the air and emitting a roar which can be heard for eight miles. • “At first it scared the hell out of me,” he said between squirts of tobacco. “But now I’m get ting used to it." • Wayne Mangum, a shy, 36- year-old foreman, tells of his 18- year career with the U.S. Forest t Service while keeping an eye on his young crew manning a fresh fire line. “When I first started, we ei- • ther walked into them or rode a horse,” said Mangum, who lives in Alpine, Ariz. Mangum’s wife and child • know summer means Dad could be gone for months at a time. This year he’s already fought , fires in five states. “Some years I am gone a lot and some years I’m not,” he said with a slight twang. “When •we leave we don’t know when we’ll be back. It’s hard work, but I enjoy it. I’ve always liked the outdoors.” — • Tommy Tomlinson of Cheweelah, Wash., is a “hot 'Shot,” one of the firefighting elite who, unlike the khaki-trou sered, yellow-shirted regulars, dress with scruffy flair. They * are the troubleshooters who ex ecute special maneuvers in the battles. “We’re all crazy,” the 28- * year-old Tomlinson said with a devilish grin. A firefighter for six years and a hotshot for two, .he says he is happiest in the midst of a big blaze like the one near Big Sur. “That’s where it’s at,” he * said. “It’s an incredible rush. I couldn’t work in an office.” Tomlinson modestly said his Job “is not really that dan gerous. I don’t feel my life is in danger at all. And it’s a good feeling knowing you’re doing * something good for the land.” Fritz Cahill is the man re porters turn to when questions * crop up about the natural his tory of the Los Padres Forest. A big man in his mid-50s with a weather-worn, friendly face, * Cahill grew up in the Los Padr es and can rattle off facts about wildlife and vegetation in the * vast wilderness. Nyerere ends visit to South ATLANTA (AP) — President •Carter is serious about ending colonialism and apartheid in South Africa, but he needs the help of Americans, said Tan ‘zanian President Julius K. Nye rere. Nyerere, who ended a visit to , the Southeastern United States Wednesday, told a news confer ence that manufacturers who invest in South Africa could un •dermine Carter’s committment to human rights in that country. “They reap the benefits of ra cialism and colonialism,” he ‘said. Commenting on the appoint ment of Andrew Young as U.S. i Ambassador to the United Na tions, Nyerere said: “We be leive that for President Carter to appoint a black man who be- * lieves in human rights is more than a symbol.” During his visit, Nyerere vis ,ited power projects and agricul tural experiment stations. He knows, for example, that in the 1940-41 rainy season, 161 inches fell on the coast ridge flnjß tartrate HmFw 45k W n /iky tl 17 fMil l i 1 _jM wHRIIIaw B z«3bmi BkS j Hl w 1 j7 yjp Hr 1■ M KJ&. I ÜBF 9 MB Wb i IB! i i BB R iT'* )||fSML Variety is the spice of fashion this season . and we've spiced this new You may buy your ~k B«k.»o-schooi collection NAW Fzl 11 in At A find a versatile mix of all the basics lICVV I ail VUat A. ... blazers, vests, pants and skirts NOW ON OUR SPECIAL CHARGE iWf I IL . . shirts and sweaters . . . or LAY AWAY PLAN * n co ’ or matc^ec * P r ' n t $ solids! save2o % to 30 % Q ul "RlUu.. Through the Month of August JXVt)OvC6 Il I Jr. World Shop Second Floor ti* I just a few miles west of the Marble-Cone fire. Cahill began as a temporary firefighter in 1948. He is now a Forest Service supervisor. “I fought the last big fire here 27 years ago,” he said. “Spent 26 days on it. Despite his experience with Page 9 forests and fires, Cahill takes the Marble-Cone fire as a per sonal affront. -Griffin Daily News Thursday, August 11,1977 “It sort of makes me cry when I see it,” he said, looking out over the smoke-shrouded ridges and canyons of the Los Padres forest. “That’s because I was raised in it.”
