Wildland Firefighter Foundation

Our friend Jake Henschen had a fierce passion for Wildland Firefighting. He was a combat veteran, a father, son, brother, and Wildland Firefighter. He was our family. His enthusiasm for work was contagious, and it was hard, if not impossible to stay in a bad mood for long with Jake working next you. He soaked in every minute of his first Fire season. Pictures, jokes, culture, and of course constantly researching new fire starts to see where he and the rest of the Vegas Valley Veterans crew would be headed next. To say he was an asset to the team would be an understatement, he was one of the integral pieces of glue, a constant source of positivity and humor, that bound us even tighter as a crew.


Jake was taken from us after the end of Fire season, and he took a piece of all of us with him that we will never get back. The world is a darker place without Jake, and I regret that more people couldn't get to know him personally, because they would all be better off for it. I am using this fundraiser as a way to carry his name forward, and help others benefit from his memory.

The Wildland Firefighter Foundation became personally involved with our crew and our grieving process. They enabled several crew members to travel to Jake's funeral despite financial problems, which made such a massive impact on the ability for us to meet his wonderful family and see each other again to process the loss together. It is hard to put in to words the difference it made to come together to celebrate Jake's life with his family and each other, but it was overwhelming, and to that we owe the WFF a debt of gratitude.

The Wildland Firefighter Foundation’s main focus is to help families of firefighters killed in the line of duty and to assist injured firefighters and their families. They honor and acknowledge past, present, and future members of the wildland firefighting community, and partner with private and interagency organizations to bring recognition to wildland firefighters.


It is hard to put in to words the impact Jake had on our lives, the following are words I read at his funeral, and hopefully can give some insight to those that did not know him an idea of the man he was...

"Last night a lot of us from the Vegas Valley crew and Jakes family got together and had a great time eating and swapping stories about Jake. A lot of those stories and experiences from Jakes life got me to thinking about some of the things that made Jake so special and stand out so much in our lives.
 
One of the big themes and attributes of his that I kept coming back to, and that I had seen a lot in the Marine Corps, was something we called “cheerfulness in the face of adversity". Now, we may call it different names or things depending on the branch we served, but the core concept is the same. It is the ability of someone, no matter how hard the circumstances or bad the situation, to keep a good attitude and come out of it on the other side. It is someone who smiles in the face of adversity, and inspires the others around him to keep pushing, even when they themselves are suffering.
 
That was Jake. Jake didn’t have the easiest life. Jake had a life that would have caused lesser men or women to give up, but that wasn’t Jake. Jake loved his family and friends and refused to keep trying, pushing and looking for opportunities to make himself better.
 
Jake knew he had made mistakes, but it didn’t stop him from trying to make himself better every single day. And we can all learn from that.
 
After observing Jake over the season, I felt that he had found something special in Wildland Fire. He had truly found an important purpose for his life. No matter how long or hard the day, Jake would come back to camp full of inside jokes and stories from the day. Getting to know him over our 6 month season was a blessing, and I wish we all had 10 more seasons of to make memories with him.
 
All of us from the crew thank you for your hospitality, and the privilege to get to know and work with our brother Jake."

Please help us keep Jake's memory alive and use it to benefit others. Any amount of donation goes to the Wildland Fire Community experiencing loss in their lives.

Want to join us in making a difference? We are raising money to benefit Wildland Firefighter Foundation (WFF), and any donation will help make an impact. Wildland Firefighters protect our communities and our lives. Thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to our family. 

More information about Wildland Firefighter Foundation (Wff): Wildland Firefighter Foundation’s main focus is to help families of firefighters killed in the line of duty and to assist injured firefighters and their families. We honor and acknowledge past, present, and future members of the wildland firefighting community, and partner with private and interagency organizations to bring recognition to wildland firefighters.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the tragedy on the South Canyon Fire.  14 wildland firefighters lost their lives in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

It also marks my 25 years involved in wildland fire.  When I returned home from Iraq as combat veteran, I needed a place I felt safe talking and working thru the challenges of combat and a deployment that lasted over a year and a half.  My fire service organization, the VA, and even my own family could not help.  

It was the wildland fire community and the Wildland Firefighter Foundation that helped put me back together again.  Incident Management Team ICs from Region 4 that got me back on the line, digging in the dirt, hanging with people, and enjoying family again.  Vicki and Burk became my family while I learned how to be "normal" again.

Sadly, just six years ago, our wildland firefighting community lost a mind-blowing 19...on one fire in Yarnell, Arizona.  Many of us had hoped we would never experience a loss so great as South Canyon, yet here we were repeating history.

Since the summer of 1994, we have lost over 300 firefighters from all walks of the fire service on wildland fires.  Career, volunteer, state, federal, and contractors.  Engines, handcrews, helitack, smokejumpers, and support functions personnel have all experienced the loss at some level.  

On June 10, 2019, I am beginning my hike & bike across Idaho.  From Idaho Falls Fire Station 1, located at 343 E. Street (in remembrance of the 343 killed on 9/11) to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation in Boise, ID, reaching it on Friday 14, 2019.

Over 300 miles to remember the men and women killed from all walks of life in the wildland fire world.  Sons and daughters, mothers and fathers...families who have given so much. 

Will you help me raise $10,000.00 for the WFF and the families affected by the loss or injury of anyone in the fire service who responds to wildland fires?

The Wildland Firefighter Foundation's main focus is to help families of firefighters killed in the line of duty and to assist injured firefighters and their families. We honor and acknowledge past, present, and future members of the wildland firefighting community, and partner with private and interagency organizations to bring recognition to wildland firefighters.  For more information on how your donation helps check out the foundation's official webpage: https://wffoundation.org/  or their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WFFoundation/

Mission: To support our wildland firefighter community.

The devastation of wildland fires affects not only firefighters and their families, but the community at large. In the last year, we witnessed the destruction the Whittier Fire and the Thomas Fire caused in our hometown. This fire season alone, there have been multiple fatalities and injuries. Despite the risk to their lives and wellbeing, our firefighters work tirelessly to protect the people and property of our great nation. So what can we do?

Many in the community sympathize with loved ones who were killed or injured in the line of duty, but don’t quite know how to help. We have a solution. When we connected with the Wildland Firefighter Foundation, we learned there is much we can do as a community to support the men and women who are currently battling wildland fires nationwide, as well as our fallen heroes and their families. The Wildland Firefighter Foundation’s mission is to “help families of firefighters killed in the line of duty and to assist injured firefighters and their families. We honor and acknowledge past, present, and future members of the wildland firefighting community, and partner with private and interagency organizations to bring recognition to wildland firefighters.” (https://wffoundation.org/)

When we decided to train for Pier to Peak , one of the nation's toughest half marathons, we decided to use the opportunity to raise money for the Wildland Firefighter Foundation. We will be running 13.1 miles with a 4,000 ft elevation gain. 

We are all connected to the firefighter community. This is our time to give back to the men and women who have given so much to the community at large. Our goal is to both bring awareness and support to the wildland firefighter community and assist the Wildland Firefighter Foundation in their mission to help the families of fallen and injured firefighters. 

By donating to this GoFundMe, you are supporting the families of firefighters who have been affected while fighting the ever present wildland fires nationwide. 100% of the donations raised will go to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation. 

With your help, we hope to raise $13,100 as we run 13.1 miles from Stearns Wharf to La Cumbre Peak. 

As we see it, the 13.1 mile course will put us steps closer to supporting those in our community both near and far.

XX Angelie, Erika, and Gina