Firefighter honors father as wildfire smolders

By JANALEE LUKE
Special to the Sun Advocate

A few days into the Trail Mountain Fire, members of the Great Basin Type 2 Incident Management Team (IMT) 4 were discussing how to protect high-value assets at risk in the fire’s potential path.
The discussion eventually focused on the Crandall Canyon Mine and adjacent memorial.
Dustin Jensen, the Incident Technical Support Specialist (ITSS) for the team, mentioned to a team member why that area was so important to him.
Dustin’s father, Gary “Gibb” Jensen, a Mine Safety and Health Administration inspector, lost his life due to injuries sustained in the second cave-in at the Crandall Canyon Mine on Aug. 16, 2007.
Fast forward nearly 11 years and Dustin is on the team trying to protect that same mine from the encroaching flames.
Last Sunday was Father’s Day, and Dustin’s wife and children traveled to Emery County to visit him. They drove up to Crandall Canyon, but did not want to disturb crews who were working on protection measures around the mine and memorial.
Dustin and his family visit the memorial whenever they are in Emery County, but they weren’t able to make a Father’s Day visit this year.
In the following days as the fire got closer to Crandall Canyon, Dustin was filled with mixed emotions.
Having worked with this team on complex fires with a lot of values at risk, Dustin knew of the great work the team was capable of. He knew they would do all they could to protect the mine and save the memorial.
“My dad is buried in the Redmond Cemetery. We can go to his grave. We have that peaceful place to visit, but others who lost family members at Crandall don’t have that,” Dustin said. “They have the memorial. That is their peaceful place.”
On Saturday, Emery County Sheriff’s personnel were able to visit the memorial with Dustin and IMT Public Information Officer Jesse Bender.
Ground crews were busy working in the area, small hot spots were flaring up in the rocky terrain above the mine, and air support was continuously flying overhead dropping water on the ridge above the mine.
All this activity did not take away from the few solemn minutes spent in the memorial grove. Dustin expressed his appreciation for his co-workers saying, “They are like family. Everyone supports each other and has fun, but they take their jobs seriously. They knew how to take care of the mine and the memorial.”