Say that five times as fast as you can! I was looking forward to covering the Utah Wildfire Academy all week. And when I finally got there, I was not disappointed. It was a world I had never been exposed to before...nothing more than I had seen on the news like everyone else. I was amazed by how many people - both trained fire professionals and volunteers - were involved in the training. Maybe it's because I'm not a Utah native, but never did I think to fight wildfires when someone asked me what I wanted to do for volunteer work. Or paid work for that matter... And talk about living, breathing, eating, sleeping fire... it costs these students thirty bucks a day for training and that DOES NOT include food or lodging. So... they all pitch tent and call it a day. Love it. Another thing I loved was the sense of brother and sisterhood amongst those going through the training. Like fighting this first fire - even though it was a "controled incident" - was enough to bond them for life. And after talking with some retired wildfire fighters during lunch, I realized that trusting your life in others hands in situations like that really DOES bond you for life. Spending just a day with all of them inspired me enough to want to go through the academy myself! Getting a chance to experience that and spend a day so close the flames was amazing! Oh, and maybe I can start to make Nomex fashionable? -Annie