08/19/2026
Canoe Trips & Wildfire Missions:
Sometimes fighting wildfires means going where fire engines, trucks, and even ATVs simply can’t.
Deep in northern Minnesota’s Superior National Forest, hundreds of lakes and miles of remote wilderness make canoes an essential part of the mission. Wildland firefighters use them to reach lightning-caused fires deep inside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness—carrying their gear in, working the fire, and sometimes spending days in areas accessible only by water.
Rapid Emergency Management is proud to have Medic Jimmy Randolph embedded with the Minnesota Bravo Crew, an 11-person wildland firefighting crew made up of firefighters from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Department of Transportation.
These photos capture the crew paddling their way out after 11 days assigned to the Camp Fire, where they worked to locate and extinguish the remaining hot spots before finally beginning the trip home.
The crew includes Foreman Nate Johnson; Firefighters Sam Bull, Chris Emery, Nathan Trotter, Joe Sweet, Aaron Hoefer, Tony Murilla, Dawson Quern, and Landon Goble; along with Medic Jimmy Randolph of Rapid Emergency Management, LLC.
Wildfire medicine can take our teams to some pretty incredible—and incredibly remote—places. We’re proud to support the firefighters doing this difficult work wherever the mission takes them.
Wildland Fire. Remote Medicine. One Team.