Washington native leads JBLM soldiers into wildfire fight

Roughly 240 active-duty soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) are helping fight one of Washington’s biggest wildfires. The colonel overseeing them is a Washington native.

Colonel Chris Ellis grew up in Ellensburg, went to the University of Washington (UW), and now lives in the Seattle area.

Ellis is a colonel in the U.S. Army and serves as Defense Coordinating Officer for FEMA Region 10, which covers Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska.

Right now, that job has him overseeing the active-duty soldiers assigned to the Little Giant Fire in North Central Washington.

The fire has burned nearly 150,000 acres near the community of Plain and Lake Wenatchee. More than 6,000 structures are threatened. Soldiers are working in 20-person crews alongside civilian firefighters.

Ellis said they get daily briefings on weather and fire conditions before heading out. Their jobs can include laying hose, clearing brush, cutting trees with chainsaws, and searching burned areas for hot spots.

And the work is tough.

Ellis said crews are dealing with heat, steep terrain and big elevation changes. Some are working above 6,000 feet. They are also moving through burned areas and old logging roads, where damaged trees and falling branches can be another danger.

Then there are the long days.

“They’re working for 12 hours a day and getting blisters on your hands,” Ellis said.

Ellis has seen some of that himself. On his first trip out to visit the crews, he wore a new pair of boots. That did not go particularly well.

“The first day I went out, I got my brand new boots, and I blistered up really well,” Ellis said.

By the time he reached the soldiers, he said he had burned about 500 calories. He found crews breaking brush, looking for hot spots and working chainsaws.

“I felt a bit of jealousy, but it is definitely a younger person’s game for sure,” Ellis said.

Before heading to the fire, the soldiers went through specialized wildfire training.

Ellis said that included instruction from smokejumpers and hotshot crews on chainsaws, protective equipment, fire shelters and hand tools.

For Ellis, helping in Washington means a little more.

“No one wants to be called to a disaster because it means that someone is suffering, something’s been damaged, something’s been destroyed,” Ellis said.

But he said being able to help people in his home state is something he appreciates.

“If I and we get to serve my home state, that’s amazing,” Ellis said. “We’re out there to save lives, save properties … to assist Washingtonians.”

For a Washington native now helping lead the response, the mission is professional, but this one is personal, too.