He worked the Tubbs Fire in California in 2017, the most destructive wildfire in California at the time. There were 22 fatalities. In his division, there were six missing people. That was the first time he saw cadaver dogs, whose job was finding bodies in piles of rubble.

He was at the 2014 Carlton Complex Fire in the Methow Valley, which killed two. He remembers the pungent smell of burnt cows from a farm that had lost 250 cattle. He also fought next to the Okanogan Complex Fire in 2015, where three firefighters died. In California, a nearby division had a firefighter who died in a water truck rollover.

“I think every firefighter has some form of PTSD — there’s things you cannot shelter yourself from this job that you will be exposed to, and over time, it just builds up,” Hatley says. “It damages your life, damages your well-being, and I think going on all these calls each and every day, you’re exposed to something that over time causes damage.”

Hatley is now division chief with Spokane County Fire District 8, where he’s been for 10 years. He still struggles with the side effects of his PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, which he manages through counseling and other support systems. Hatley says his personal life is also affected, and sees that echoed in his relationship with his wife.