Sandi Hilderman flips through her late brother's manuscript about his experience wildland firefighting. Robert Ritchey worked on fires across the West.
Robert Ritchey's firefighting helmet and his handwritten manuscript.
When Sandi Hilderman looked through her late brother's possessions, she found a package with hundreds of handwritten pages in a manila envelope. They were his stories from his career as a wildland firefighter.
"This is a story he never told our parents, although we knew he got injured," Hilderman said during a book tour in Condon on Oct. 25. "But it is a story about a fire and how he was trapped in one of them."
Her brother, Robert Ritchey, served as a wildland firefighter for decades at the end of the 20th century. In his book, compiled by Hilderman, Ritchey shares his time at the massive Yellowstone fire in 1988, the burns in Glacier and his lifesaving run through fire during an undated incident.
The book, which also highlights Ritchey's recovery effort, is a testimony to the dangers of working with fire and the importance firefighters feel from keeping places safe.
Ritchey and Hilderman grew up in a preacher's family, often moving to different churches. Ritchey graduated from a school in North Dakota, and went to Morehead College in North Dakota. Sandi said he tried tons of jobs, but nothing appealed like fighting fire.
"He loved it, and he wanted to do it even after he got hurt," Hilderman said.
After Hilderman found the manuscript, she typed it up, often with support from her husband Paul Hilderman, who also served as a wildland firefighter along Ritchey. The two said transcribing and publishing the work took years to complete.
Ritchey was a firefighter and served as a medic for his unit. He could do first aid during one day, and dig line the next. Sandi showed the room all his equipment, which added up to more than 60 pounds to carry up mountains and through creek beds.
He kept a lot of secrets about his fires. After going to one in Redding, California with Paul, he recalled when burning poison oak almost killed one of his crew members.
"She had a rash from her head to her feet, she even had some inside her mouth," Sandi. "He also said they had to dodge 200-foot trees. It was just dangerous and I guess he didn't want to worry us."
The book starts with large fires in both Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park. Sandi said the book has little to do with specific dates, but instead his day-to-day on the fireline. He also went into detail on all the processes and tools wildland firefighters use when out in the field.
Sandi brought many of his original items to Condon, including his backpacks and handheld items. She showed off one, a fire shelter, which she said Ritchey did not have enough time to deploy when he was surrounded by fire.
"There was only one thing to do," Sandi said. "He ran through to a stand of trees, straight through the fire."
He brought his gear with him too, which allowed him to call into headquarters and get a medical evacuation. He was in the hospital in Montana for several days. One day he forced the hospital staff to let him go home to Harlowton, because if not he would walk the 15 miles himself.
Ritchey died in 2019 from the hardening of the arteries. He was 70 years old. Sandi said she was proud of the commitment her brother made to save lives and forests, and said the book has a larger message of gratitude towards first responders.
"I also dedicate this book to the wildland firefighters and the Forest Service who take on such a dangerous job," Sandi said.
The book "Into the Flames" is available in Barnes and Noble and online as an ebook. Sandi also said she hopes to get a copy into every public library in the state of Montana.
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