- The Utah County Fire Department deployed its fourth crew out of state already this year to assist in Nebraska, battling wildfires that have burned over 800,000 acres.
- Utah firefighters expect challenging local fire season due to dry conditions after winter.
SPANISH FORK — Another group of firefighters from Utah is in Nebraska helping crews battle ongoing wildfires.
This is the fourth crew of Utah County firefighters to deploy on a mutual aid mission this year, and it's only March. Utah's fire season hasn't even started yet.
"Our teams are gearing up to be ready to respond to the call for aid and are happy to help others in their time of need," the department stated in a Facebook post this week.
Utah County Fire Capt. Dakota Summers told KSL on Tuesday he and two other firefighters had just arrived in Bertrand, Nebraska, giving aid to others who are "spread thin" fighting multiple wildfires.
Those fires over the last month have burned more than 800,000 acres, according to the Nebraska governor's office. One person was killed trying to escape the flames, NBC News reported.
"They've been having quite a few (fires) these past few weeks," Summers said. "Some have gotten pretty large just because of the wind out here, and it's light fuel, so the wind just kind of takes it."
Summers and the others from Utah County are expected to be there for two weeks. They're replacing another crew who just returned after a similar deployment.
This year, the Utah County Fire Department has also sent mutual aid to Texas to help local crews fight wildfires.
"We're all on the same team – one big family – and so we try to help out wherever we can," Summers said. "Being able to go nationally helps us kind of broaden that family and just help us to build (those) relationships with other departments."
The Utah County firefighters are set to return from Nebraska in a few weeks. Summers expects to face a tough fire season at home, too, with dry conditions after a poor winter.
"It's definitely going to keep us busy, keep us on our toes," he said.
