A glance at firefighters' favorite snacks while they're on shift.

In the hierarchy of food items for firefighters in the field, strawberry-flavored Smuckers Uncrustables are near the top.

“It’s a very coveted item,” says firefighter Francisco Navarro from Alameda County Fire Department, a strike team crew member stationed in Cachagua Valley on Aug. 3. “They’re like the unicorns of snacks.”

This group of Alameda County firefighters find themselves positioned outside the U.S. Forest Service ranger house on Nason Road. Heavy smoke settles into the valley around 8pm, creating soft, orange sky illuminated by nearby spot fires and smoke settling low in the valley. Helicopters are heard chopping overhead as the firefighters prepare warm food and coffee.

“This isn’t our first rodeo, so having Cup of Noodles is classy,” Navarro says. “We are the definition of elegance.”

A key element to their on-shift meals is a small JetBoil backpacking stove, no bigger than a mason jar, which boils water within minutes, perfect for making instant soup and coffee. Navarro sets up the makeshift kitchen on the metal steps to the backdoors of the fire truck.

One firefighter’s wife made a batch of chocolate Rice Krispies Treats for the crew. They dip them in coffee, for what they call “ghetto biscotti.”

“Somehow the chocolate melts perfectly in the coffee, creating a mocha,” Navarro says.