Most of Alaska’s wildland fire crews are helping fight fires in the Lower 48, including blazes in California and Colorado that have triggered evacuations of thousands of people from their homes.
Roughly 450 to 500 Alaskans are currently working throughout the Lower 48, said Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Beth Ipsen.
The travel is nothing new — Alaskan fire crews have been helping Outside for decades — but this year firefighters are not only trying to contain fires, but they’re also hoping to keep COVID-19 contained to prevent an outbreak that could bench the much-needed fire crews.
Four firefighters were diagnosed with COVID-19 while working to extinguish the flames on the Cameron Peak Fire in Colorado, said Michael Trimmer, who is coordinating three of the Alaskan crews as they attack wildfires in Colorado. Although none of the cases involved the Alaskans, Trimmer said it’s nerve-wracking to think about his crews contracting the virus.