Wildland firefighters were the original overlanders.

That’s how Pete Gordon puts it — a sentence that neatly wraps a lifetime of fire, dirt, grit, and camaraderie. For more than 30 years, Pete lived on the edge of wildfires and wilderness, helping steer crews through danger with little more than what they could carry on their backs or load in a truck. These days, Pete’s traded his fireline gear for a custom-built Rossmönster and overland gear— but the mission hasn’t changed.

He’s still showing up. Still carrying the weight. Only now, it’s in a different form — one built to carry stories, raise awareness, and honor the ones who didn’t make it home.

One of our original Baja Trucks, owned by Pete Gordon, tows his wrapped tribute campaign truck to the Overland Expo for the Wildland Firefighter Foundation.

That’s how Pete Gordon puts it — a sentence that neatly wraps a lifetime of fire, dirt, grit, and camaraderie. For more than 30 years, Pete lived on the edge of wildfires and wilderness, helping steer crews through danger with little more than what they could carry on their backs or load in a truck. These days, Pete’s traded his fireline post for a custom-built Rossmönster — but the mission hasn’t changed.

He’s still showing up. Still carrying the weight. Only now, it’s in a different form — one built to carry stories, raise awareness, and honor the ones who didn’t make it home.

A Career Forged in Fire

Pete began his fire career as a Hotshot — the elite hand crews that go where engines can’t — and rose through the ranks to become a fire chief in the Forest Service in Arizona. The job demanded more than physical grit. It required trust, leadership, and a calm hand when things went sideways.

One night in 2006, Pete found himself facing a wall of flame outside Chadron, Nebraska. With only a few volunteer engines at his side and no time to train, he had to guide the crew through a textbook burnout to save homes in the fire’s path. "It wasn’t a Hollywood movie scene, but it was urgent," he says. “We taught as we went. And it worked.”

In another story, Pete led the protection of FAA communication towers in the Catalina Mountains above Tucson. With flames racing up canyons, he and a handful of firefighters worked against gravity to light concentric burns downhill, ultimately sparing both the towers and a string of summer camps. “This required a lot of planning, coordination and communication, and we didn't lose any buildings or towers,” he says.

The Granite Mountain Tragedy

In 2013, tragedy struck close to home. Nineteen firefighters — members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots — were killed outside Yarnell, Arizona. These fallen firefighters were from Prescott, AZ, just 30 miles from the tragedy and where Pete and his wife live and worked. Many had been Pete’s students, coworkers, and friends. Pete reluctantly shared that he was part of the body recovery team.

“It rocked our world,” he said quietly. “There’s a bond in wildland fire that’s hard to explain. We laugh together, we cry together, we overcome together. We spend weeks at a time together, away from our homes and families, roll after roll after roll. We
work under duress, physically pushing ourselves to the limits. We don’t forget.”

The experience deepened Pete’s work with the Wildland Firefighter Foundation, a nonprofit that supports families of fallen and injured wildland firefighters. Pete and his wife Celeste have volunteered for decades — organizing fundraisers, staffing events, and helping wherever needed.

“We’ve seen what it means when the Foundation steps in,” he says. “Especially for the seasonal firefighters with no benefits, no fallback. The Foundation fills an extremely important gap.”

Building a Tribute

When Pete and Celeste retired, they began looking for a rig that could handle remote terrain for their personal adventures and support their outreach. Rossmönster’s Baja truck platform caught their eye — not just for its capability, but for the flexibility to make it their own.

Pete’s first Baja became part-camper, part-campaign. It tows a custom off-road vehicle he calls the “Tribute Truck,” wrapped in a Wildland Firefighter Foundation design, and complete with purple accents like the purple ribbon that honors fallen firefighters. When they’re not off-roading in Arizona or towing it behind the Rossmonster on their personal travels, they’re displaying it at shows like Overland Expo West. “It’s not just for fun,” Pete says. “It’s part of the mission.”

Now, he’s getting ready to pick up their second Rossmönster build to continue the mission in towing the Tribute Truck across the country on their personal journeys or to events; all to raise awareness of the Foundation and honor the fallen wildland firefighters.

And his fingerprints are on more than just the color scheme and floorplan of this new build. Pete's original truck helped shape some of the Baja’s current features, like the side-entry door, spare tire carrier, and the electric step override switch — all now part of Rossmönster’s standard options. “From the start, we felt like part of the team,” he said. "And years later, we feel like family."

Still on the Line

Pete hasn’t stopped showing up. He and his wife still work for the Forest Service for a few months each summer staffing the Prescott Air Tanker Base. They still volunteer and fundraise. He’s already planning and networking for next year’s Wildland
Firefighter Foundation’s presence at the Overland Expo-West in Flagstaff. Pete still tells the stories that too often go untold. And as he says, “the trucks are not just tools — they are a way to keep rolling forward, in both mission awareness and personal mental well-being.”

It was very apparent during the interview, that the loss of brothers and sisters in the line of duty has affected Pete deeply. He tries to embody the Wildland Firefighter Foundation moto, “Compassion Spreads Like Wildfire.”

For Pete, the fireline doesn’t end at retirement. And the trucks we build here at Rossmonster? They’re capable of carrying more than people and gear. They carry legacies just like Pete's.

Title

To learn more about the Wildland Firefighter Foundation or to get involved, visit wffoundation.org. Pete shows up at Overland Expo for the foundation, and can also be found as a admin of the Rossmonster Owner's Group.