Charles Edward Caldwell

The wildland firefighting community lost an absolute legend August 26th 2026 in Charlie “No Slack” Caldwell. The man

who started up the Redding Hotshots in 1967 and led the program until his retirement in 1985. From the logo, to the

crew colors, to the couth, to our culture, to the way we handle business, it’s all because of Charlie.

He was an innovator, a leader, a teacher and a hell of good fireman.

In Charlie’s tenure on the crew, 33 future Hotshot Superintendents would come through the program, along with

countless other Fire Management Officers, Forest Supervisors, District Rangers and Module Leaders. The success of his

former crewmembers was something he was extremely proud of.

His tremendous impact on the agency and our culture is still being felt today.

Charlie once told me, we had the best job in the world and I would 100% agree with him.

I will miss our visits at the base with the crew, the patchboard builds, the Christmas luncheons and the talks about

hotshotting across America, hunting and whatever else came about.

Please keep his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers.

We love ya Charlie. Citus Et Absolutus

From Deb and Charlie:

Charlie was born at home May 2nd, 1936 in Redding, CA, the sixth of eleven children. He graduated from Shasta High

School in 1954 and went to work for the US Forest Service on the Shasta-Trinity. He spent one or two seasons horse

packing out of Denney and was foreman of the fire crew at Lakeshore. Along with fighting fire, he did a lot of project

work — building campgrounds, blasting roads, planting trees, erosion control, etc.

In 1956 he met the love of his life, Jacqueline, and married her on Valentine’s Day, 1957. In 1961, they moved to Central

Valley (Shasta Lake), where they spent the rest of their lives together. They had three children and unofficially adopted a

few more. He was a Little League umpire and a Cub Scout leader.

In 1965 Charlie started Smoke Jumping under the Retread program. He jumped from 1965 to 1974, logging 99 fire jumps.

In 1967 he established the Redding Hotshots, where he remained until his retirement in 1986.

After retiring from the Redding InterRegional Hotshots, Charlie spent the next 10 years as a Shasta County Sheriff Boating

Safety Officer, spending 4 years on Shasta Lake and another 6 running the Sacramento River from Shasta Dam to Red

Bluff. This entailed all the challenges of law enforcement and saving the lives of many river-goers who underestimated

the river’s placid surface and very cold water. When Law Enforcement politics became more frustrating than the good he

was doing, he decided to retire form this role.

After getting his Class A license, he became a Truck Driver with full ratings from hazmat to explosives, watering logging

roads, and driving chip trucks and cement mixers. This kept him in the woods of Modoc and Lasson counties. He wasmoving explosives to blast rocks and the mountain sides for platforms of electrical towers heading to Reno, Nevada,

when Contra Costa Electric approached him asking if he was interested in joining IBEW and doing electrical work.

This led to his next career in the Richmond area as a Certified Electrician working in the Refineries. He spent many hours

high above the towers in lift trucks running conduit and power and lighting. They never let him go during layoffs, always

finding a position to put him. Something about “No Slack” in whatever he decided to do.

Deciding he needed to be closer to home at 70, he returned to the Fire world working with his many friends and

companions in the Fire world at the Redding Air Tanker base mixing and loading fire retardant. At 87 he was diagnosed

with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. 30% remaining lung function required the use of a O2 machine and he decided it was time to retire. Finally retiring permanently, he still went to the lunches and events as long as he could for the

remaining 3 years of his life, here on this Rock.

We Love You and Miss you Dad, till we get to play again!!!

And Big hugs to the rest of His Family. Blood or not, you were his Family, and he loved and cherished each one of you!

Remember his dedication, his service, his love and encouragement that has helped us all get to where we are going.

Blessings to each of you…