Hotshot Trucks Spotted at Goleta Beach

By Michael Ford

On my bike ride home Friday evening, I saw that some of the firefighters fending off the Whittier Fire made camp at Goleta Beach. I noticed that a few of these lime-green trucks had the word “Hotshots” plastered across the side along with a designation of where they traveled from. Hotshots are considered experts in fighting wildfires, taking on exhausting work up and down the state. 

Sleeping under the stars, some of these guys had hammocks stretched between their trucks; some placed sleeping pads right on the parking lot asphalt; and others pitched tents on the beach. Probably a well-deserved break.