'No Such Thing As A Typical Deployment' Says Colorado Firefighter In California
DENVER (CBS4) - With wildfires still raging across the western United States, Colorado firefighters continue to answer the call for more resources.
"We went to Riggins, Idaho. We were there for nine days," said Engineer Michael Anderson with North Metro Fire Rescue. "The fire was burning in mostly grass understory but it would actually make crown runs."
North Metro sent two separate teams to the Teepee Fire, covering an entire month.
A national call for firefighters goes out and local agencies answer with the number of firefighters they can send. Every department CBS4 spoke with said normal district coverage is not decreased to send their staff out-of-state.
"We were paired up with people from all over the country. There were people from Maine and Kentucky. We got to know a lot of people from Utah," Anderson said.
South Metro Fire Authority sent a team to California in August and they were coincidentally paired with other Colorado firefighters.
"We were on the River Complex Fire outside of Willow Creek, California, and it was 66,000 acres," said Thomas Rogers with South Metro Fire Authority. "When we got to the incident we met crews from Berthoud, Colorado, Fort Collins, Boulder County, numerous crews from Colorado."
When they work out of state the tasks can range from fighting fires to structure protection, and even herding cattle.
"There is no such thing as a typical deployment, it's just what you're assigned to do," said Rogers. "For several days we worked on a spot fire"
With fires still raging, the firefighters back in Colorado know they may be headed away from home again soon.
"There's always that potential and in roughly two weeks I'll be available again," Rogers said.
Wildfire Resources
- Visit CBSDenver.com's Living With Wildfire section.
Wildfire Photo Galleries
- See images from the most destructive wildfires (Black Forest, Waldo Canyon, High Park and Fourmile) and largest wildfire (Hayman) in Colorado history.
Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he's been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.
