BACKBONE CONTRIBUTOR - RIVA DUNCAN We Don't Need Another Forestry Technician* Hero I've started this essay numerous times since the helicopter crashed on the Mt Hood NF on August 25th – the helicopter manager and trainee are from my forest – but I couldn't land on a topic. I wanted to talk about fire fatalities. I wanted to talk about forestry technicians*. I wanted to talk about the mental health of those who fight fire. I wanted to talk about the dark realities of "heroism." Then after September 8th, I wanted to talk about the fires that roared through Western OR and WA, leaving tragedy in their collective wake. Each time I started to dive deep into thinking about which topic to focus on (I do a lot of writing in my head), I would feel overwhelmed and emotional. I had to just stop. I was in full compartmentalization mode for at least the first 14 days after the wind event that started on the 7th. It's the only way I could get through the long days of dealing with two large fires. ...