This week, we’re tipping our hats to Emily Travis. She’s a full time seasonal firefighter in California.
“I began working as a full time seasonal firefighter in 2014 after finishing up my fire academy and EMT training. I’ve worked on an engine responding to wildland fires, structure fires, traffic accidents and medical emergencies. Summers are very long, and you often work through the months with no days off on the fires that burn in California. The job is tiring but very fulfilling and you become very close with the crew that you work with. We all work together often times through the night carrying heavy gear and hose up steam mountains with little sleep…my advice for young women getting into the fire service would be the same as for young men. Work hard, get an education, stay in shape and keep getting better. It’s a really fun job and has so many aspects that you can specialize in that really keep the job interesting you just have to see what that is.” -Emily Travis
When she’s not braving the wilderness, protecting the great state of California from the flames, she’s hard at work at Five Marys Farms in Fort Jones. It’s a beautiful spot in the Scott Valley with a population of just under 1,000 people. The area is a historical landmark, where many people carry on the traditions of the ranching community.
“Even though I didn’t grow up on a farm, I raised animals for 4-H &FFA. We bought our pigs in the spring time and had the responsibility of raising them for the show in August, then selling our animals for slaughter and figuring out our expenses versus what we sold the animal for and what we profited.
It’s a pretty common activity for kids here and it taught us a lot about hard work, the realities of life and death, where our food comes from and making an investment and seeing a return. At the time it was just normal but it really gave me a good basis of the importance of hard work.” -Emily Travis
You can also see Emily featured in this tribute to all those who make Labor Day possible.