EVERETT — Shaughn Maxwell knew he had to head home.
A massive wildfire — which would become bigger and fiercer than any he had ever seen in 27 years as a firefighter — threatened the Methow Valley in rural Eastern Washington.
It scorched much of his childhood stomping grounds, including a favorite spot along the Elbow Coulee where he used to sled in the winter. His parents still live alongside the Twisp River a few miles outside of town.
Maxwell, a captain with Snohomish County Fire District 1, has been a paramedic since 1993. A year ago, he returned to the Methow Valley to help with the Carlton Complex fire, which was until this summer the largest wildfire in state history.
On the morning of Aug. 19 he called the director of the Aero Methow Rescue Service to check on conditions and offer moral support.
That afternoon, as the fire took a turn for the worse, the director called him to ask if he could come to help. That same day, three U.S. Forest Service firefighters were trapped in their vehicle and died.
Maxwell approached Fire Chief Ed Widdis at Fire District 1 headquarters south of Everett.
“Go help them,” the chief told him.
The drive to the Twisp Riverbend Spike Camp took eight hours. The highway was closed at Newhalem and he had to backtrack to U.S. 2.
He reached the fire camp around midnight and was briefed until 2 a.m. He could see the flames creeping toward town.
Maxwell served as the medical unit leader, overseeing the daily and emergency needs of firefighters.
For 17 days, he’d wake up as early as 4 a.m. and get to bed between 10 and 11 p.m.
“It was a difficult thing to do, but it was an honor to be able to serve the community, serving the volunteers and the people involved in the tragic event,” Maxwell said. “It was all the local volunteers doing the work. I was just there to support.”
In some ways, the response to the wildfire reminded him of the mudslide that took 43 lives in Oso the year before. Locals provided home-cooked meals for grateful firefighters. He also spent a day working alongside Capt. Cindy Coker, the medical services officer for Snohomish County Fire District 3 that serves the Monroe area. They had teamed up for five weeks at Oso.
Maxwell was exhausted by the time he returned to Snohomish County, reunited with his wife and two small children again.
He also felt fulfilled, getting to help the community that gave him his start as a 16-year-old volunteer firefighter in 1988. He graduated from high school there as part of a class of 25 seniors. The same community later helped pay for him to attend paramedic school.
“You always feel indebted to those who helped you,” he said.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.
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