MARLBOROUGH, Connecticut — As wildfire season continues to hit the west, firefighters from Connecticut are doing their part to help battle the fires.
On Thursday, the Connecticut Interstate Fire Crew made a safe return after being deployed for two weeks to Montana. It takes manpower to fight wildfires and 16 men from the Connecticut Interstate Fire Crew were amongst that force fighting fire in Montana, 12 of those heroes are from Connecticut like Gunnar Norback who completed his first-ever deployment.
“Serving my community is part of the life that I live every day and having the opportunity to go abroad and go across the country to help others when they really need it, that’s what I was very interested in doing,” said Gunnar Norback.
The crew that came from all around the Northeast region was assigned to the Colt Fire in Montana which officials said was started by a lightning strike.
“Really steep country. We were in the back woods of Montana for sure, bear country,” said Philipp Russell.
Russell also battled the flames in Canada.
“Canada was flat and boggy. Montana was dry, dusty, and steep,” said Russell.
The men were deployed out in the Northwest for two weeks.
“It’s definitely difficult having to pick up and leave 14 days at a time, sometimes more for extended travel days, but it’s necessary. It’s necessary to represent the state of Connecticut and our forestry program,” said Russell.
While these crews are answering the call, to fight wildfires, fire control officer, Rich Schenk, said recruitment for wildland firefighters is down.
“When I started mobilizing in the 80’s, we would do five crews out of this area: Main, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, and some of the other states contributing. We’re lucky if we can roster one crew out of that area right now,” said Rich Schenk.
The Biden administration's proposed budget for 2024 includes a funding increase for wildland fire and hazardous fuels management with the U.S. Department of Agriculture receiving $180 million and the U.S. Department of Interior receiving another $72 million to raise the base pay for federal and tribal wildland firefighters.
“I think it’s probably going to help somewhat. The bottom line is there is not enough people who really want to do this kind of work,” said Schenk.
But for the ones that are facing the flames head-on, they say it’s their calling.
“The residents of Connecticut can rest assured that the state is doing their part to send out resources,” said Norback.
Beyond the Montana crew, they also had a firefighter deployed to Idaho and Oregon.
DeAndria Turner is a multi-media journalist at FOX61 News. She can be reached at dturner@fox61.com.
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