Wildland firefighters’ families feel emotional toll

After the death of three firefighters in Washington, one couple agreed to speak out Thursday about the emotional toll of firefighting dangers that many families know very well.

Darren Clifford and his fiancee, Samantha, live in Tumalo. Clifford has been fighting fires for 10 years.

“You’re living on the edge,” he said. “You’ve got fire. You’ve got cliffs on either side of you. It’s just a rush.”

With the rush comes dangerous side-effects.

“It was hard for me to grasp the actual danger they were in,” Samantha said.

For Clifford, the danger was very real. He suffered a bad ankle sprain while fighting a wildfire. The injury kept him off the fire lines for almost two years.

“I do it because I love it,” he said. “I would do it even if I didn’t get paid. I’d volunteer.”

Hundreds and thousands of heroes like Clifford leave behind loved ones to battle the blazes. Those loved ones bond together through online platforms, such as Spouses & Partners of Wildland Firefighters.

“Over 800 women, who are doing and living the same fire life,” said Kathryn Osborne, a firefighters’ spouse.

The online community provides friendship, resources and fundraising opportunities.

“I wanted to find people experiencing the same life, because fire season can be really lonely,” Osborne said.

Samantha said, “Just when I got a phone call from him — I didn’t care what I was doing. I went to my phone, and that was a priority.”

For Clifford, surgery on the horizon is the light at the end of the tunnel, so he can return to fighting the flames.

“I’ll put my life on the line,” he said. “Doesn’t matter if it’s a car fire, structure fire or wildfire. That’s what I’m born to do, and that’s what I’m hopefully going to continue to do,”

For those in Central Oregon interested in joining the group, visit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spousesandpartnersofwff/?fref=ts