By Makai Yllanes, Emma Brown, Giselle Martinez, Lillian Goodin, and Ava Suffredini

STORY

For us this story began with thinking about the way wildfire smoke had escalated across North America over the past few summers. As smoke travels closer and lingers longer each season, we've become increasingly aware of wildfires and their consequences; yet rarely know the people at the front lines. We were curious: Who are they, why do they enter this kind of work, and what challenges do they face? Our team's curiosity escalated to investigation.

One of our co-directors, Makai, grew up in Colorado witnessing several wildfires throughout the summers there; one of which burned nearly 13,000 acres and forced many friends and neighbors to evacuate their homes. This stuck with him and led to our interest in developing this project.

Studying documentary, film, photography, and journalism at Ithaca College, we have learned the importance of covering underreported stories from unique perspectives. The documentary medium allows for an intense sensory experience through strong visuals and auditory soundscape coupled with investigative journalism. Our narrative around wildfires is not just about the environment and the cause of the fire but the labor, community, and culture behind those fighting wildfires.

OUR FOCUS

Filmed at the tail end of the 2026 wildland firefighting season–-one of the largest and most destructive seasons in the last decade, with over 8.4 million acres burned nationwide–this documentary follows the experience and perspectives of several wildland firefighting individuals and crews across the western United States.

Following a California-based ground crew in their day-to-day work, we intend to explore the unknown, grueling work that goes into wildland firefighting and wildfire prevention. For some of these crews, their work is year-round, with a need for fire mitigation to lower wildfire risks between active fire seasons.

Through this documentary, we highlight the lives of younger and newer (within their first five seasons) individuals stepping into the world of wildland firefighting along with seasoned veterans and retired wildland firefighters. Within this framework, we will capture how the industry’s culture, tactics, and physical demands have evolved over the decades.

Our goal is to lift the veil on the often glorified and romanticized media perception of the work. The whole narrative is grounded in the constant awareness and understanding of risk, and the quiet acceptance of the very real possibility: that any assignment could end in death.

WHY SUPPORT US

This project is guided through Ithaca College's senior thesis course: Documentary Workshop. The course hosted a series of pitches to a board of Faculty, Staff, and Ithaca College Alumni with rounds of elimination. Our project pitch was ranked #1 regarding Fresh Take on a Current Issue with National or International Implications, Dynamic Characters, Consequences/Stakes, Access, Visual/Cinematography, and Likelihood of Success.

Upon pitch approval from Ithaca College, we received $2,000 to get our project on its feet. However, as we are based out of Ithaca, NY, we need further coverage in order to travel outside of the state to locations such as Utah and California.

Past projects in the Documentary Workshop class have been nominated for and won major awards. Some of which have gone on to win College Emmys, the Webby Award for Best Documentary Short, picked up by National Geographic, PBS, and other distributors, and have traveled film festival circuits receiving regional and national recognition.

REWARDS

Digital Access to the Film

$20

Link to Final Cut of the Film Upon Completion

Invited to the Film Premiere

$50

Premiere Screening invitation on December 6th in Ithaca, NY

Behind-the-Scenes Footage or Photos

$100

Package of BTS footage or photos

Postcard from Set

$150

We will be in Utah the weekend of 10/2 and an upcoming trip to California

Special Thanks in Credits

$200

Video Call with the Filmmakers

$500

Get the inside scoop; chat with us about our current status, additional stories that may not be featured, and chance to see RAW footage.

Executive Producer Credit

$5,000

Become an executive producer on the production for only 5,000?? Pretty good deal. We are grateful for any and all expertise or advice.

Private Screening, Filmmakers Q&A

$10,000

Filmmakers will travel to your location for a screening of the finished project, followed by a Q&A talkback!

LOGISTICS

This project is overseen through Ithaca College's Documentary Workshop, thesis level course under Professor John D. Scott.

Industry standard equipment and resources are provided through the Park Schools' gear rental service, Park Portable Equipment Center and Services (PPECS).

We are fully committed to safety. To achieve this, our team is working in direct coordination with the Ithaca College Office of Risk Management and Insurance to oversee all safety protocols and compliance.