Arizona firefighters prepare ahead of peak wildfire season
MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. - Firefighters from departments across the Valley spent Wednesday at Lake Pleasant preparing for the worst-case scenario of raging wildfires.
What we know:
With record-breaking temps this week, extremely high heat in Arizona usually kicks off the risk of wildfires. Add high winds, dry vegetation, and a booming population in rural areas.
"The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management along with the Central Arizona Wildland Response Team (CAWRT) begin their annual interagency wildland fire training to prepare for Arizona’s upcoming fire season. This annual refresher provides collaborative training between local, state, and federal wildland fire agencies," a news release says.
As you can imagine, it's not easy.
"It is very hard work," said Brady Casson, spokesperson for the Peoria Fire-Medical Department. "It is hot."
These crews will go out for two weeks at a time for the annual interagency wildland fire training, and they’re sleeping in tents.
"Part of the importance of this training is to make sure that they’re prepared, that their body is physically prepared," Casson said.
CAWRT ensures that the firefighters called up to battle wildfires this year are up to the task.
What they're saying:
"So, in this area, we have crews practicing scratching lines," Casson explained. "The idea is the fire would burn up to that point and then stop. That’s what you’re going to do with these wildland fires, is contain them and then control them."
From sandbox operations where incident commanders can practice deploying units, to water pumping stations. A hundred firefighters attended the training along with future firefighters from Sunrise Mountain High School.
"I also knew some firefighters that were very respectable, and a person that I would look up to. I knew that it was just going to be a good career field.
They practiced putting fire shelters down," said Noah Driscoll from Sunrise Mountain High School.
Fire shelters need to be built quickly in case winds pick up a wall of fire and send it blazing back onto the crew.
"It’s that time. I know we’re almost up to triple digits already. So, it’s here. We are prepared to do this. We have the equipment we need and the training we need and the training that we need to be proficient," Casson said.