COLORADO, USA — Fighting wildland fires is hard work that's now getting harder.
Imagine flames in your face on the mountain and COVID-19 in the air at base camp.
Wildland fire teams have now been told they must bring enough food, water and materials with them to sustain themselves through their deployment fighting the fire.
"The fear is that we’re going to catch the COVID-19," said Chris Queen with Mountain View Fire and Rescue. "At the end of every shift, we would congregate in these tent cities and be close to each other and interact. Now with COVID-19, we’re unable to do that like we used to in years past."
COVID-19 has changed a lot in our lives. It’s also changed how wildland firefighters like Queen battle blazes across the state and the country.
The team from Mountain View Fire and Rescue in Northern Colorado is used to getting dispatched to wildland fires across the country where they work with thousands of other firefighters.
"In previous years, fire camps used to be mini-cities," said Queen. "If we get sick when we’re out on a fire, the whole team has to get sent back. Even if we’re not showing symptoms, we could still be carrying the disease."
This year along with their fire truck, a smaller pickup truck will follow close behind to every wildland fire the team responds to. They've also been told they will only respond to fires in the Rocky Mountain region.
The truck has everything to allow the team to stay socially distant from other crews and stop firefighters from sharing equipment and being together in camps.
"This truck here is pretty much self-contained for everything that we would need for a two-week dispatch in a wildland area," said Queen. "We carry water, we carry food. There's camp supplies, there’s even toilet supplies that we can use if needed. We even have our own showers if we need to use those."
The Colorado National Guard has also deployed teams of soldiers and airmen to test firefighters for COVID-19 while out fighting fires. They were down in Cortez and Pagosa Springs last month where they tested 250 people battling fires.
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