Midewin IHC History
2001-Present

The first employees arrived in June of 2001 and the crew was operational by early August. The crew was temporarily based in 3 trailers at the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Wilmington, IL. Due to the late start, the crew was only on two assignments in 2001, the Rex Creek Complex wildfire in Washington and the World Trade Center Relief Effort in New York City. The Midewin IHC received the Forest Service Chief’s award for emergency assistance for the work performed in New York.

2002 was the crew’s first full season. The crew was operational from April to the end of August. In July, the crew received its current fleet of vehicles consisting of 1 Ford extended cab pick-up and 4 Chevy crew cabs.

During the 2003-2007 seasons, the crew was operational from the beginning of March through mid September. Generally, the crew would begin its season by supporting initial attack efforts and prescribed fire east of the Mississippi river before heading out west. The crew was able to establish a reputation of being a hard working crew that spent most of its time away from the host unit.

2004 was an extremely difficult season for the Midewin IHC. On April 24th Alan Toepke was fatally injured in an off-duty traffic accident while returning from a fire assignment in Florida. The crew stood down for 2 ½ months but was able to finish the season strong with several good assignments in July through September. During the stand down the majority of the crew traveled to the Superior National Forest in Minnesota to assist with initial attack and fuels management projects. At the time of the accident the crew was pursuing its certification as a fully qualified IHC. In October of 2004 the crew moved into its new facilities.

The crew was certified as a fully qualified Interagency Hotshot Crew on July 30th, 2006.

Superintendents – Career and Detailed

Assistant Superintendents – Career and Detailed

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