Andrew Erkkila is a former Gila Hotshot with four seasons of fire experience. He has fought fire in most of the western U.S. In 2011, he was honored with the S.W.E.A.T. Award (Superior Work Ethic and Teamwork). He graduated from the MFA program at Rutgers-Newark. He received a 2026 Individual Artist Finalist Award from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.  His work has been published in Prairie Schooner, The Master's Review, the New Orleans Review and was listed as a finalist in t