Greg Jones

So many people operate in their own little boxes, but wildfire is complex and a fireline is a very dynamic environment. To even remotely understand one you have to be able to look both broad and deep, think ahead and understand what’s led up to it without missing what’s happening in the moment, and you better have your head up the whole time or bad things do happen. You also have to be able to accept that they might happen anyway, and that helps you prioritize and figure out what matters and what doesn’t.

To do this job well you have to be able to look at things and perform from so many perspectives… nature and people and the land and weather, values and priorities, fuels, terrain, wind, politics, up close as well as overhead, physically, technically and intelligently, fatigued and under duress.

You need so much perspective and composure, and I think it’s obvious that working with people from different backgrounds and cultures can only help that. Taking photos has really helped me process things too, and it’s insane that in so many places we still treat our firefighters like unskilled labourers and are sticking inexperienced, unprepared kids in some of these situations, let alone in leadership roles. A lot of the good ones are burning out, fast, and we’re not going to get away with it. More communities are going to burn and firefighters will die if we don’t find ways to develop and retain talent in this vocation, and this is a global vocation… It’s important work that requires competent professionals and functional support systems. We have to help more people understand that”.

Growing up my family on both sides farmed and ranched, between southern Alberta and interior British Columbia, and this taught me appreciation for people who could do hard things that mattered and the importance of work connected to the land, nature, community and reality.

I was obsessed with sports and outdoor recreation which led to pursuing kinesiology, but as I finished university I was having just as much fun working landscape construction in the summers and I didn’t want to be inside. I knew how good that air, dirt, sunshine and sweat felt, especially with a good crew who could get a job done.

Someone put me on to wildfire where I still got to work physically as well as mentally, in a team environment through highs and lows where winning and losing was a real thing. Someone told me before my first season that really doing fire would pull me in directions I couldn’t imagine or plan, and they were right. I spent my first six winters off building ice roads in support of diamond mines in the Canadian arctic, where I learned more about how competent and diverse teams perform and win in high risk, high stakes environments. I balanced summer fire and winter ice road seasons with harvest on the prairies back home each fall and surf trips in every blank calendar space in between, and somewhere along the way I picked up a camera to try to capture, understand and maybe even share some of these insane experiences I was witnessing and somehow got to be a part of.

Fifteen years later I’m still being pulled directions I couldn’t imagine and I continue to reconcile the fact that there are only 365 days in a year while figuring out how to balance work, play, projects and fire seasons with time on the road and at home with my family, dogs and friends. Dots only connect in hindsight, right?

Most of my time and energy still goes to being ready for, enduring and coming down from fire season, but I also work as a photographer and more recently as a consultant and advisor with different organizations, brands and agencies around the world. I work to balance operational, leadership and storytelling roles focused on building, supporting and connecting folks doing work that matters, whether that’s in wildfire, agriculture, conservation, healthcare, recreation or other arenas. I’m fascinated by the intersections between work and play and how recreation can make us better, and outside of work I spend time with my family, friends and dogs, ideally in the water or on the mountain.

Foundations:

• American Wildfire Experience & The Smokey Generation
• Grassroots Wildland Firefighters
• Global Conservation Corps
• Operation Pegasus Foundation

Accomplishments:

Making a living doing work I love and getting to experience some incredible things around the world while being able to give back to the community. Coming home each shift and project to my family and dogs, and keeping in touch with friends from different places and seasons who help keep things in perspective. Trying to keep the torch lit long enough to pass it on.

What Mystery Ranch Packs do you Run?

• Fireline: Big Ern
• Airplanes or office: 3-Way Briefcase, both 18 and 27, Catalyst.
• Photo and every day: Rip Ruck 15

I work with MR because I genuinely love the gear you make and the people you have involved with making and putting it to use. The Zoid Cubes and Rover series are sick, same with the Metcalfs – stoked to work with you on some more photo, EDC and lifestyle kit.

Other Sponsors:

No other sponsors but I work project by project with partners who are authentic and trying to do the right thing.

Favorite Quote:

“Fear doesn’t go away. The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day”. -Stephen Pressfield

No Bad Deals.