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Remembering
Jason Robert McKay
USDA Forest Service, San Bernardino National Forest — California
Classification: Career
Rank: Assistant Engine Operator
Date of Death: October 26, 2006
Age: 27
J ason had five years with the USFS. Before that,
he was a Mojave Green. He earned an
associate degree at Victor Valley College
in Fire Technology, taking every
course they had to offer pertaining
to fire. He was an EMT. From
the age of 14, he was a Fire
Explorer at the Adelanto City
Fire Department, where he
did volunteer work such as
Christmas toy giveaway to
needy children, the annual
haunted house, and the
Adelanto Grand Prix.
All during this time, he
accepted every challenge
that was offered with a
determination to be the
best. He earned Honor Roll
every year in high school,
and if he wasn’t in the top
few of every fire class and Fire
Academy in college, he felt he
had failed.
He loved the outdoors. Endurance hiking
and climbing were his passion, second only to firefighting.
He also loved mountain biking and spending
time with his family: myself, his two sisters still
at home, and his grandmother. He had hoped to
some day be a smokejumper and had also expressed
interest in getting his helicopter pilot’s license.
From the age of 13, after his father abandoned
the family, he became the man of the house. He
devoted his all in making sure that I, his mother,
disabled with lupus; his sisters Brenda,
age 16 at that time, Jody, age 8 at that
time, and Crystal, age 6 at that
time; and his elderly grandmom,
who lives with us, were
happy, healthy, and secure.
He lost his own childhood
in insisting on taking on
this responsibility. So
much so that, by the time
he reached age 25, it
became quite a concern
to him that he had not
found someone yet, and
he was heartsick at the
possibility of never having
children of his own.
He truly loved children.
But all was not lost. He met
the love of his life in a beautiful
woman named Staci, and
for that last chapter in his short
life, he was the happiest man! He
had a sparkle in his eyes and a joy
in his heart that could be felt by anyone
who was near him. He now had his future, his life,
the career that he dreamed of as a child, the best
woman in the world, whom he planned to marry in
October 2007, siblings who were well on their way,
and a mother whose illness was stable.
It was now his turn… at least until the Esperanza
Fire, where he and his crew were overrun by fire.
Esperanza means Hope.