In a state as large as Texas, neighbors helping neighbors is nothing new. But when large wildfires strike, the state’s 31 million residents have an added layer of protection through the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System.
In mid-February, as wildfire spread across West Texas and the Panhandle, the system was activated. The Boerne Fire Department deployed a brush truck and a three-person crew: Firefighter Johnathan Vadnais, Driver/Operator Ryan Lynch, and Lt. Toby Vicknair.
The trio was dispatched to various communities upon arrival to the region. They were then quickly deployed at the onset of the Lavender Fire in the early evening hours of Feb. 17.
“We worked all the way through the night until it was 8 o’clock the next morning,” Vadnais said.
Upon arriving at the fast-moving fire, crews shifted into life-saving mode.
“We were driving through the fire and they were still trying to do what they call structure triage, meaning getting people out of the houses, seeing which houses are savable, and which are not savable,” Vicknair said. “We don’t know if there’s people still in those houses, so that’s what we did, we started with active evacuations. Then after that, we started to fight fire.”
Assigned to Strike Team ST-130, the Boerne firefighters operated in challenging, hilly terrain and worked 26 hours straight at the beginning of the fire, which behaved in unpredictable ways.
“The fuel was super light and flashy,” Lynch said. “So, it moves super quick and it created some sort of its own weather.”
Once evacuations were completed, crews began establishing stronger fire lines by starting fires ahead of the main blaze, a tactic used to create a fire break.
“We’re going to burn the fuel between that fire break and the main head that’s coming towards us, just to kind of knock its feet out from underneath it, so to speak,” Vadnais said.
After the initial response, the crew got about four hours of sleep at an old volunteer fire department building before returning for a 12-hour shift later that day, during which they hiked 10 miles – a reminder of the physical and mental demands of wildfire deployments.
Vicknair, a veteran of such deployments, said these assignments are often filled with unknowns and challenges unlike anything seen in Boerne.
“Some guys will go out and spend two weeks, but they might not catch a fire or no fire,” he said. “We got to go out in one week and catch what we call the initial attack.”
For Lynch and Vadnais, this was just their second deployment for TIFMAS, but their first experience with a wildfire of this scale. They said the experience they bring back is invaluable for both the department and residents.
“Learning about that and getting to put fire on the ground made me more confident if we had to do it here,” Lynch said. “I’d take somebody else out who was new, that’s never done this before, that way we would be able to do it and we’d be able to do it effectively.”
“Everybody comes back a little bit wiser, and then it makes us a little bit wiser for fire activity: when it’s going up a hill or down a hill or things that you can do,” Vadnais said.
Boerne and Kendall County also participate in the Hill Country Fire Coalition. Guided by the Kendall County Community Wildfire Protection Plan, the nonprofit’s efforts are focused on improving risk awareness, promoting safety, and ensuring the community is prepared, safe, and resilient in the face of wildfire threats.
The firefighters said there are several steps residents can take now to help protect their homes in Central Texas:
- Keep grass mowed at least 100 feet around your home
- Maintain trees and reduce low-hanging limbs
- Routinely clean gutters
- Avoid burning even small fires during high fire danger days
“We have a lot of areas where the natural grasses and trees come right up close to the houses,” Vicknair said. “And that’s something that people have to be aware of, because once it starts going, that conductive heat from here to 10 feet away, it’s going to be hotter than you can stand.”
As for why he answers the call to help, Vadnais pointed to his faith, referencing Isaiah 6:8.
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Isaiah 6:8
An answered call to serve when others are in need.
The Boerne Fire Department praised the crew’s professionalism, resilience, and commitment to service, noting they represented the department and community with integrity and pride.
