The
Lassen Hotshots were formed in the summer of 1974. The crew was placed at
Bogard Work Center on the Eagle Lake Ranger District of the Lassen
National Forest. Don Wallace was named the first superintendent of the
Lassen Hotshots. Don ran the crew until 1977, at which time Joe Carvelho
took over. Due to a budget crisis in 1978, the crew, along with numerous
others, was shut down. This was known as “Black Friday” in the hotshot
world. Due to a very active fire season in 1979, and the lack of
appropriate resources to deal with the many fires, the decision was made
to bring back several of the disbanded crews.
So in April of 1980, the Lassen Hotshots came back to life under the
leadership of Jim “Jaime” Jimenez. Lassen was one of the first crews to
travel to Alaska in the 1980’s, and along with the El Dorado Hotshots, the
first to fight fire internationally in Canada. Also, Lassen has hosted
numerous international firefighters from Chile, India and Australia.
For twenty-two years Jaime served as the Lassen Hotshot Superintendent,
training captains, squad leaders, and countless crewmembers. Many of
these hotshots returned to honor Jaime in the spring of 2003, along with
friends, family and several other hotshot superintendents for his
retirement party. Throughout his long and prolific career Jaime
exemplified the hotshot work ethic of never quitting, always challenging
himself and those around him, and by putting honesty, duty and integrity
above all else.
In that tradition, John Bristow was chosen as the next superintendent
prior to the 2003 fire season.
The Lassen Hotshots are proud to be a part of the California Hotshot
community. We continually strive for excellence and to uphold our
interagency hotshot crew values.
Superintendents
Don Wallace –1974 to 1977
Joe Carvelho – 1977 to 1978
Jim Jimenez – 1980 to 2002 (retired in place)
Stan Kubota – 1997 (detailed)
John Bristow – 2003 to Present
Captains
Former crew captains include: Joe
Carvelho, Scott Vail, Rick Addy, Rod Vineyard, Tommy Tucker, Dave
Sandbrook, Bob Edwards, George Schwerian, Rocky Tow, Larry Vogan, Dave
Ramirez, Kelley Jones, Bob Richardson, Paul Johnson and John Bristow.
Recruitment
Information
Please Contact:
Captain 9-1: Mike Sherman –
msherman@fs.fed.us
Captain 9-2: Chuck Lewis –
calewis@fs.fed.us
(530) 252-5873