Star motorcycle racer takes break from track to become volunteer firefighter in blaze-hit California
A successful professional motorcycle racer has taken a break from his glamorous and exciting job to become a volunteer firefighter battling wildfires sweeping the US.
Jayson Uribe, 21, has been riding motorbikes since he was nearly a toddler, but has swapped his red track outfit for yellow overalls to help contain blazes close to San Francisco in California.
Despite the dramatic change in jobs, Jayson says the skills he picked-up in his old, high-octane profession lend themselves very well to his current job.
‘The amount of training, both physical and mental, crosses over to racing,’ he said. ‘It’s being able to stay focused under pressure, there’s heat training, a lot of things.’
Jayson says he and his colleagues spend days on end working with only the shortest of breaks to try and protect local wildlife and homes from burning to the ground.
‘We’ve been working since 3:30 am on Sunday morning,’ he said. ‘We’ve been on it ever since. We just got a quick break.’
Jayson has been a firefighter over the last two years. The pressure he has faced on the job has been immense, including a moment of crisis where his team was stuck in the middle of the scorching blaze.
‘A month ago, we got in a bad spot,’ he said. ‘We were the only unit assigned on a three mile stretch of road. We ended up running out of water. We were stuck and trying to find ways to get out of the heat. That was a bad time.’
One photo taken of Jayson shows him struggling to stay awake while having a sit down in his uniform – but he says there’s no risk of nodding off while out tackling fires.
‘There’s so much adrenaline that’s it’s easy to stay awake,’ he explained. ‘And we’re trying to take as much caffeine possible without having your heart explode.’
Jayson said that being out there can be draining, but it’s worth it to be able to help out the community.
‘It’s honestly been a really tough time,’ he said. ‘We have had very few resources, but if a community is being threatened, we have to evacuate them.’
Jayson said the fires were related to years of dry weather, but also noted that this area hadn’t burned in about 150 years.
‘You could link it to climate change or not having any rain,’ he said. ‘But all of us knew this would happen at some point.’
Jayson said that firefighting is something he’s wanted to do for his entire life, but said he will go back to racing at some point.
‘I love both,’ he said. ‘It’s hard for me to choose one over the other, but my heart is set on the fire stuff for quite awhile.’
Jayson first raced internationally in 2013 and holds the British Superbike Championship record with 19 consecutive finishes in points of contention.
He working to cool down the LNU Lightning Complex Fires in Northern California, where five counties have been affected, and five people have been killed.
Fires have burned across California, Oregon and Washington since August, burning over six million acres of land and killing more than 37 people.
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