In this riveting episode of "The Fire Inside Her," host Diane Schroeder delves into the story of a firefighter with an indomitable spirit. With a call to service and a love of nature, our guest, Kimberly Lightley, found her purpose in wildland firefighting. Our conversation today uncovers the life-altering moment when her path intersected with the South Canyon fire of 1994. As we follow her journey, we gain insight into the awe-inspiring world of hotshot crews, their challenges, and their incredible resilience. From the breathtaking mountains they conquer to the weeks spent camping with limited resources, we discover the true mettle of these elite firefighters. But Kimberly's story is just the beginning. Join us as we explore the depths of authenticity, the struggle to recognize one's value, and the transformative power of resilience. Don't miss this raw and powerful episode of "The Fire Inside Her," where the fire burns deep within the hearts of its heroes.
The South Canyon Fire on Storm King Mountain claimed the lives of fourteen wildland firefighters in Glenwood Springs, Colorado on July 6th, 1994. Kimberly Lightley is a surviving crewmember of the U.S. Forest Service, Prineville Interagency Hotshot Crew, from the 1994 tragedy. As an educator and advocate for first responder well-being, Kimberly has spoken in venues nationwide and internationally, delivering mechanisms of coping and well-being in preparation and mitigation of the stress associated with emergency response. She has a Master of Science in Risk Management from the Notre Dame of Maryland University and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from George Fox University. Kimberly has received training from the National Fallen Firefighter Foundation (NFFF), the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF), Duke University of Integrative Medicine, and the Mind Fitness Training Institute. As a fire peer, she has responded to numerous critical incidents, providing on-site peer support.
Kimberly is the former Risk Management Program Specialist with the U.S. Forest Service, Fire and Aviation Management, Washington Office, and the National Program Manager for Stress First Aid for Wildland Firefighters. She makes her home in Powell Butte, Oregon, with her family and two dogs. She currently has her own LLC and provides training in Crisis Leadership.
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Diane Schroeder [:
w. One event that occurred in:
Kim Lightley [:
Me, too.
Diane Schroeder [:
Well, we'll get started right away with the random icebreaker question. And my question to you is, what is your favorite childhood meal?
Kim Lightley [:
Meal? Well, when I was young, my mother used to make Manicotti, and there's just something about the way the kitchen smelled and just the preparation. There was a lot to it, stuffing the shells and yeah, I love yeah, it is good.
Diane Schroeder [:
The last time I had manicotti was at this really good Italian restaurant that we discovered in Boulder last month, and it was just incredible. So food always triggers wonderful memories for yes, absolutely fantastic. Well, I also would like for you to share a little bit about yourself and your story, and what I'm really curious about is what got you interested in the US. Forest Service and being a hotshot and a wildland firefighter.
Kim Lightley [:
So how much time do you have, Diane?
Diane Schroeder [:
We have a lot of time, but maybe highlights.
Kim Lightley [:
helicopter drops us off at a:
Diane Schroeder [:
Well, thank you for sharing. I love hearing that piece of it because I also grew up in a house with my mom, was kind of the homemaker. Even though she was a teacher, she was very much I like to call her a 50s housewife. That's what she knew. That's what she did. My dad was a volunteer firefighter and a machinist and just kind of he was a rough dude. He didn't go to war because he was the sole survivor. His dad was killed in World War II. So long story short, for me, when I decided to get in the fire service, he told me to lay down until the feeling went away.
Kim Lightley [:
Oh, gosh.
Diane Schroeder [:
the news. So it wasn't until:
Kim Lightley [:
, and then:
Kim Lightley [:
, five or few minutes after:
Diane Schroeder [:
ked that trail. I hiked it in:
Kim Lightley [:
I still do.
Diane Schroeder [:
We still do, right? Every day is a choice. But yeah, if you don't mind sharing what your choices were moving forward and how you have spent since that incident, advocating for wildland firefighters and mental health and sharing your story. And I have so much respect for you because I can't imagine that it's easy and still be this incredible badass. That your legacy and you carry the legacy of those that didn't make it that day. And I just think that's one of the most beautiful tributes you can give to someone is to honor them the way that you have.
Kim Lightley [:
Thank you. Those brothers and sisters that went before us on that day and then so many cents. I mean, it's your motivation, right? You get up in the morning and obviously there's not a day in my life that's gone by where they're not telling me to either put my chin up or they're yelling at me kindly. But anyway, after math was not kind for me. I didn't do good for a long I wasn't well in. I call it my decade of darkness. I'm not sure if it was a decade, but it was definitely a very dark place and we don't need to go into too much depth there. But just where I found myself, I didn't know who I was anymore. That was my love. Firefighting was what put me through college, basically. My dorm room was just plastered with fire posters and everything, and I even wore my fire boots during the school year to keep my calluses. That was who I was, right? And I loved it. Thinking back of who I was at the time when this happened, it was like this huge betrayal of something that I loved, and yet it killed me and it killed our crew. So, yeah, my spirit was very much dead for a long time and choice wasn't even I couldn't even fathom. And so I ended up leaving the US Forest Service. I tried to stay for a few years following the fire, but it was just those daily reminders. I still worked in Pineville and it was just like and so I thought, well, I ran away. I literally took another 180 turn. I made a choice to work, and this is going to sound funny, but I made a choice to work as a pharmaceutical research chemist, and I worked in a laboratory, and I wore a white lab coat and goggles, and I worked with early stage drug development in the pharmaceutical. It was a respite, in a sense, because I had to focus on something entirely different and actually use different parts of my brain and just really focus on the micro level of something. I really didn't enjoy that much. I liked the people that I worked with. Safe, but, yeah, it was safe. It was safe. But what was weird is the body, the mind, those trauma pieces. I used to say it's like a tattoo. I mean, you just can't cover it up. It's like black leg. In the Wildland Fire community, we have PPE, we have personal protection equipment. But really, the soot, the ash, I mean, it gets in your pores, in your legs, arms, and everything. And so I remember when I was little on the fire, I'd come home at night, my mom would look at me and give me a can of Comet and a toughie. It's like ghost. We'll get cleaned up. You can't get the black out of your pores. I mean, it's in there, right? And so trauma pieces, it's in there. I mean, it's in my pores. It's in my fiber of who I am and at the cellular level.
Diane Schroeder [:
Kimberly, thank you so much for sharing your story, and I think this is a great place to pause and then continue your story on another episode for part two. Thank you for giving the valuable gift of your time and listening to The Fire inside her podcast. Speaking of value, one of the most common potholes we fall into on the journey to authenticity is not recognizing our value. So I created a workbook. It's all about value. Head on over to thefireinsider.com Value to get your free workbook that will help you remember your value. Until next time, my friend.
