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Deep inside the nature preserves blanketing Southwest Florida, contract forestry firefighter Kyle Tucker patrols the perimeter of a section of the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge during the largest burn-out project in the history of this protected land. The controlled burn is designed to halt the series of fires that started with a lightning strike May 4, now one large blaze, which threatens the preserve.

DAVID ALBERS / Daily News

Tucker, 23, arrived seven days ago with his standing 20-man crew from the forestry consultant firm Grayback Forestry Inc. His crew, which includes his 20-year-old brother, Calvin, is from La Grande, Ore.

Traveling throughout the country during the summer fire season, these crews work with local forestry firefighters to protect lands where the inhabitants are largely oblivious to their presence.

"It’s a lifestyle. It takes a certain type of person to do this. They’ve got to be willing to travel, not eat for hours and breathe smoke all day," says Tucker, on break from pounding out small flare-ups with a shovel. "You can pretty much kiss your summer recreation life goodbye."

Tucker is the seventh generation of men and women who made their lives in Oregon forests. "I grew up in the woods all my life and I just want to protect them and work in them. I can’t sit behind a desk. My desk has a drip torch and a chainsaw on it."

It’s a life of reverent respect — for the forest, for the fire and, most of all, for the safety of his comrades. Still, Tucker’s home life, 3,000 miles away, continues without him.

A pipe in his house burst Wednesday morning. He’ll also become an uncle this week.

"I’ll probably have my birthday down here too," Tucker says, the fire smoldering around him. He turns 24 on June 11. "Plus, I have this giddy smile because I’m going to be a father."

His wife Kaela, who is two months pregnant, called Wednesday morning as he stood on the line, watching for stray fires. She shared the news in a poem. It’s a boy.

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Reach David Albers at dnalbers@naplesnews.com.