Standing atop a helicopter pad at the Tupper Worksite in Heppner Ranger District, Engine Foreman T.C. Conner cradled a thick roll of one-and-a-half-inch fire hose in one arm.

“You want to be able to cradle it like this,” he told high school students Baillie Keithley, 17, Daniel Hernandez, 17, and Drion Donner, 18, who stood by watching his example.

“Then you want to fling it,” Conner continued, and as he did, he chucked the coil of hose discus-like, but vertically, so it unfurled on the ground like a roll of toilet paper.

“Once it gets to a certain point, pull on it!” He said. Just as the coil seemed to be slowing down, he gave it a good yank, and the roll leaped ahead, curving around in a great arc until it was completely unfurled.

Now it was the students’ turn.

Though not as experienced as the Forest Service veteran, they hefted the hoses with all their might and soon the ground of the helicopter pad was covered with little rivers of criss-crossing hose lines.

These three students were a few of 14 involved with the Umatilla National Forests’ first “Fire and Fuels Career Orientation Camp,” from Oct. 21 through Friday. During that time, high school seniors from Heppner, Irrigon and Boardman learned about working for the Forest Service. They spent the entire week at the Tupper Worksite, wore the green and yellow wildland firefighter uniforms and got down and dirty, just like real Forest Service employees.

The point of the camp was showing students considering careers in the Forest Service what it’s really like, said District Ranger Tom Mafera.

“It’s just a great opportunity for seniors who are in their last year of high school and contemplating the Forest Service,” he said. “As we go through the week, we’re giving them an overview and exposure to the Umatilla National Forest.”

Though this was the first year for the camp, the Heppner Ranger District has a grant to fund the program for another two years. This will allow members of the next two senior classes coming through Morrow County schools to have the same opportunity these 14 students had.

On Thursday afternoon, the students split into four groups and took turns attending stations. The hose-lay station where Conner taught was only one. The others included engines, portable pump stations and mobile attack.

Some students who came to the camp knew they wanted to be firefighters and saw working summers for the Forest Service after high school as an advantage.

Eric Skaggs, 17, of Heppner was one of them. He said he’s been a volunteer firefighter and wanted to learn more about wildland firefighting. He said, after hearing some guest speakers, rappelling and smoke jumping appealed to him most.

But he still enjoyed the week-long camp.

“It’s just the experience,” he said. “It’s fun.”

Rick Martin, 18, also of Heppner, said smoke jumping appealed to him as well.

“I always said as a little kid I wanted to be a firefighter,” he said.

When he was 15 he became a volunteer firefighter.

“I like fire,” he said. “As soon as the alarm goes off, I get excited.”

Hernandez, who was in the group learning hose lay, said he also has been interested in firefighting for some time. He said he’d like to work as a Forest Service firefighter while making his way through trade school in Texas. Being a part of the camp has been helpful in that decision, he said.

“Its an exciting opportunity to see what it’s like,” Hernandez said. “It has proven itself far beyond my expectations.”

Other students came because they were curious about the careers the Forest Service offers.

“It just seemed like a good learning opportunity,” said Keithley, who also was in the hose lay group. “This week has been a lot of fun.”

The only part she didn’t really like, she said, was digging line. The 14 students dug a fireline around the entire Tupper Worksite on Thursday morning, turning over earth in a wide band as if protecting the camp from encroaching flames.

Amy Grider, 17, of Boardman was another curious student and after five days of the camp, she said she still was interested in it as a summer job.

“I like the outdoors,” she said. “It’s been a fun week.”

But she shared a sentiment with Keithley.

“I liked everything except digging line,” Grider admitted.

Another Heppnerite, Derrick Erickson, 17, was excited about all the experience he had at the camp, from digging line to playing hide-and-seek at night.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “It’s a great, great experience – a lot of hiking, but you learn a lot.”

Like others, he said the camp spurred an interest in a job and he saw the Forest Service as a good opportunity to make money in the summers while attending college.

Kristen Marshall, coordinator of the camp, said it is a good opportunity for students to start a career in wildland firefighting.

“It’s is pretty competitive,” she said. “Its a good way for these kids to get their foot in the door.”

In the Heppner Ranger District, getting to be a wildland firefighter is competitive. She said there are about 20 applicants for every five job openings. The students who attended the camp will have a leg up on others if they choose to apply for the job in the district.

Mafera agreed.

“It’s just a great training ground for a district like Heppner,” he said.

Many Forest Service personnel started as seasonal firefighters and worked their way up through the agency. Attending a camp such as this can be an important first step, he said.