Aidan Westenberg ’23 fights wildland fires out West

The day his Wheaton classes ended last spring, wildland firefighter Aidan Westenberg ’23 hit the road.

At that moment, New Mexico’s largest wildfire in its history was wreaking havoc on residents. Westenberg, a biology major who has spent the past two summers as a wildland firefighter, was among the responders called in to help.

“This was probably the most insane and adrenaline-filled span of time in my life. We spent 14 days on a fire in 110-degree heat. When you are on a fire for more than one day, you better have brought extra socks and underwear because you have no access to beds, showers, toilets or real food. You only bring your essential fire gear,” recalled Westenberg, whose firefighter post is based in Montana.

Westenberg, who was born in New York City but raised in New Hampshire, said his love of nature and outdoor sports inspired his desire to work outside. He learned firsthand about firefighting when visiting a friend in Montana who had served on a crew since high school.

Following a long application process, a captain in Montana hired him for a season. After proving himself in the physically and mentally demanding work in the summer of 2021, he received the squad boss qualification, making him responsible for 10 to 20 people and overseeing operations.

In 2022, in addition to spending weeks fighting fires in New Mexico, he returned to his base in Montana, where he saw lots of action in July and August and spent an average of four to five days on each local fire.

“I would be lying if I said this job wasn’t scary. Every fire that goes big makes me nervous to the core. Seeing the columns of smoke that span the whole horizon and make you crane your neck all the way back is always humbling,” he said.

After graduation in May, Westenberg plans to continue to develop his firefighting qualifications. Eventually, he’d like to pivot to a different field, and this opportunity is the ideal springboard, he said.

“Because of my job, I have been exposed to countless opportunities; and not all of them are directly related to fighting wildfires. I have been asked to become a wildlife biologist, a fuels scientist, helicopter crew member and other jobs more related to my major,” he said. “I have learned to take every single one of them, and I am thankful that I did.”

His Wheaton coursework has helped him succeed at his firefighting work and the same is true in reverse, he noted.

“The experiences I have in the field help me have a better understanding of the concepts I learn in the classroom and help me visualize them. I learn so much from the locals and other firefighters about biology and ecology as well,” said Westenberg, who also is captain of Wheaton’s rugby team.

—Laura Pedulli