ProRodeo Sports News - August 6, 2021

COWBOY HEROES

Photo courtesy Kyle Charley

When he’s not battling PRCA bareback horses, Kyle Charley is battling forest fires.

Bareback rider doubles as an on-call firefighter SOME HOT Like It

BY KEVIN CARMODY, Special to ProRodeo Sports News W hen Kyle Charley’s phone rings, he knows it very well could dictate the next two weeks of his life. When the call is from that number, the 30-year-old bareback rider from Lukachukai, Ariz., will trade his gear bag for one packed with clothes and tools of a totally different trade than making the eight-second whistle. It’s just part of life for this on-call wildland firefighter for the Navajo Scouts Initial Attack Crew, based in Fort Defiance, Ariz., on the Navajo Indian Reservation. “We’ve had a pretty busy season, and we’re thinking we’ll

be working until at least through the end of October, maybe into November,” said Charley, who also owns and operates a working ranch in his multi-generational home in the heart of Navajo Nation in the Four Corners region. “I’ve been called to a few in Arizona and just got the go-ahead for the next fire call, most likely to the Northwest.” Once deployed, Charley and his crew spend two weeks working 16-to-20-hour shifts in hot, mostly remote areas, under heavy stress and without the taken-for-granted amenities of such things as a daily shower or fresh-cooked food.

ProRodeo Sports News 8/6/2021

ProRodeo.com

54