fire man.

You can't tell too much from the picture, but what was the only downside to Jared getting dispatched to the first fire of the season Sunday night? That wicked sunburn only barely visible after some light photo editing. I'm guessing heading into the flames pre-heated is the less than ideal but he made sure to drink a lot of water in an attempt to re-hydrate his sun-dried self.

But more importantly... JARED GOT DISPATCHED TO A FIRE!

All of us were out at Journeys for Happy Hour when Jared's phone rang. It was Alberto, basically the number one crew boss at ASP Fire asking him if he was available - and to be down in Albany, ready to leave for New Mexico at 4:30 the next morning.

Done.

When he came back to the table after the conversation with Alberto he was all but shaking with excitement. He was absolutely beaming.

And so, the season is off and running and fire man is looking at what is so far the biggest fire season in the last decade. Last year was pretty much the worst year to start a career as a wildland firefighter with only 965,620 acres having burned at this time last year. What's 2011's year-to-date acreage? 3,450,882 acres (according to the National Interagency Fire Center).

That boy is in for the time of his life.