[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 62 (Thursday, May 18, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E763-E764]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           FIRE FIGHTER DIES

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                             HON. JOE SKEEN

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 18, 2000

  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, New Mexico suffered an even greater tragedy 
on Monday, May 15. As much of the attention of the nation has been on 
the fire that burned portions of Los Alamos, New Mexico, a blaze was 
sweeping across the Sacramento Mountains in the south central portion 
of my state. Two men died in a spotter plane that was being used to 
help fight the Scott Able fire. The following story by Diane Stallings, 
a staff writer with the Ruidoso News, captures the essence of what the 
life of Sam Tobias, a career employee with the United States Forest 
Service was all about:

              [From the Ruidoso News, Wed., May 17, 2000]

                           Tobias Remembered

                         (By Dianne Stallings)

       When local forester Sam Tobias died Monday, he was doing a 
     part of his job he especially enjoyed.
       ``Going on (fire) spotter planes was something that he 
     loved,'' said longtime friend Ron Hannan with the U.S. Forest 
     Service in Alamogordo.
       Tobias, 47, was a passenger on a fire-spotting airplane 
     that went down two miles northeast of the Alamogordo-White 
     Sands airport at about 12:30 p.m. Monday. The pilot, who was 
     from Columbia, Calif, also died in the crash. The two men 
     were scheduled to fly over the Scott Able Fire in the 
     Sacramento District southeast of Cloudcroft, according to 
     authorities.
       ``He always had a smile on his face,'' said wildlife 
     biologist Larry Cordova, who worked with Tobias on the Smokey 
     Bear Ranger District with headquarters on Mechem Drive in 
     Ruidoso.
       District Ranger Jerry Hawkes said, ``We're just in shock 
     that we won't have Sam here with us anymore. He was here 12 
     years and everyone has grown so close. This is pretty hard 
     for us.''
       ``He was such a strong part of our district and the Forest 
     Service. He was the peacemaker with that big smile, always 
     helping and giving good advice. He had a lot of wisdom, 
     enjoyed helping the community and trying to make things work 
     out.''
       Tobias grew up in southwestern Pennsylvania, earning a 
     bachelor of science degree from Pennsylvania State 
     University.
       He worked in recreation management his entire career, 
     starting in the Tonto Basin Ranger District form 1975 to 1988 
     and then joining the Smokey Bear District.
       ``Sam helped out fighting fires and through the years, he 
     was trained as an air attack coordinator,'' Hannan said. ``He 
     assisted many people fighting fires with his skill in 
     coordinating air tankers, helicopters and fire crews.''
       Tobias knew every corner and cave of the Lincoln National 
     Forest in Lincoln County. He loved the outdoors and enjoyed 
     hiking, fishing and hunting.
       His mark can be found on many of the decisions regarding 
     use of forest land.
       He's credited with improving the ski area, campgrounds and 
     picnic areas that are considered models of design, district 
     officials said.
       He also worked with summer cabin owners, miners, outfitter 
     guides and telecommunication specialists.
       ``Life-long friends of his have been calling in,'' Hannan 
     said. ``My wife worked for him

[[Page E764]]

     in 1988. She can't even talk right now. Sam was the kind of 
     guy who helped out whenever and wherever he could. He'd show 
     up with his tools to lay bricks--whatever you needed.''
       ``We're certainly going to miss him.''
       Tobias and his wife, Jackie, who is a Ruidoso High School 
     teacher, recently built a home in Ranches of Sonterra.
       She traveled to the site of the crash Tuesday and was 
     unavailable to arrange details of a memorial service 
     tentatively planned for Friday, said Danny Sisson of La Grone 
     Funeral Chapel in Ruidoso.
       Tobias' younger brother and sister are expected to attend 
     from Pennsylvania, where his mother still lives.
       Dale Mance with the Forest Service on the Tonto National 
     Forest in Arizona, said Tobias changed his life when they 
     were young men.
       ``I grew up with him in Pennsylvania from the sixth grade 
     on,'' Mance said. ``He went to college and I went to the 
     steel mills. I came out to visit him (when he was with the 
     Forest Service in Arizona) in 1975 and I moved out the 
     following year.''
       The two roomed together for several years and worked on the 
     same forest.
       They still occasionally hunted and fished together, said 
     Mance, who was in recreation, but now is in the engineering 
     division of the Forest Service.
       ``He was just an all-around great person,'' he said of 
     Tobias. ``He would do anything for you whether he knew you or 
     not. He loved his work, he loved his family and was devoted 
     to both.''
       Mance said representatives from several national forests 
     plan to attend the memorial service, ``just because he was 
     how he was,'' Mance will come to New Mexico later when things 
     settle down.
       Tobias was proud of the home the couple built and brought 
     photographs to a spring training session to show his friends, 
     Mance said.
       ``He's done it to me twice--changed my priorities,'' Mance 
     said. ``The first time was for the better (joining the Forest 
     Service) and now again, I'm reassessing things.''
       ``You could just meet him once and be a friend with his big 
     smile and that twinkle in his eye and the bear hugs. Those 
     bear hugs. That's what I'll miss.''

     

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