Laramie County firefighters heading to Texas to help fight potential wildfires

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Various firefighters from Laramie County are suiting up to assist their Texas brothers and sisters in case upcoming winds bring about possible wildfires.

That’s according to the Laramie County Fire Authority, which released a post on social media declaring that members of the Laramie County Strike Team, made up of individuals from multiple fire agencies, are heading down south.

“Currently, there are no fires actively burning in Texas,” said Caeden Quist, the division chief of training for the Laramie County Fire Authority. “However, a large majority of Texas is under a red flag warning. There’s a big storm coming up on Friday that is supposed to bring hurricane-force winds, especially to the area of Texas where they’re going. So it’s really like a staging force that they’re brining down there, in case they do get fires. They’ll be prepared and ready to go.”

It’s been said that the best offense is a good defense, and that’s exactly what the Laramie County Strike Team is building. The Strike Team is made up of individuals from six different agencies.

“There was an engine from Cheyenne Fire, an engine from Laramie County Fire District #1, an engine from Laramie County Fire District #10 and two engines from the Laramie County Fire Authority,” Quist said. “Laramie County Fire District #3 also sent an engine. So you’ve got personnel from all the different departments that are working together, staffing all those engines to go down and help.”

The members of the Strike Team that are going down to Texas have a keen interest, specifically, in fighting wildland fires.

“All of our different departments have wildland teams, and those teams go out and everybody on those teams are really passionate about wildland firefighting,” Quist shared. “So they get put onto a board and they’re actually able to be deployed anywhere in the nation.”

The firefighters that go down to assist with fires like these are helping their fellow fighters, but they’re also bringing back experience which allows them to better serve Laramie County.

“The good thing is, when they come back, they bring a lot of that experience with them,” Quist said. “So when they go down to Texas or, last year, they were out in California, and then they bring all of the stuff that they’ve learned and seen, and they bring it back into our area. So it’s a really good benefit. Our guys get more experience and then we can all benefit from what they’ve learned when they get called out on these dispatches.”

Quist said that the standard for being on one of these calls is about two weeks. That’s what the firefighters commit to, but depending on the circumstances, they could stay down for a month or more.

While agencies in Texas undoubtedly appreciate the support they’re getting from Wyoming, the task force is also proof of the inter-agency operability that exists between the different firefighters in Laramie County. It doesn’t matter which agency these people are assigned to — if there’s a fire to be fought, they will fight it.

Quist stated that the best way for residents to help the firefighters is to be aware when they’re burning things, or using fire in any situation.

“We just want people to be fire safe,” he said. “It’s been really dry already. Last year, we had the Dusty Road Fire out west of town, and that was just started by some embers that escaped when somebody was burning. All it takes is just that tiny little spark to get a major grassfire going. So just be mindful when you’re burning, and how you’re burning.”

Quist said that in operations like this, it’s inspiring to see so many people working together for a common goal — that being the safety of residents and the environment.

“Knowing that all of the fire districts, and Cheyenne fire — all of us working together to try to increase safety and give our citizens everything we can so that they get the best service possible, is great,” he said. We all know that none of us can do any of this by ourselves. And we’re kind of split up, so we rely on each other a lot to make sure that we offer the best possible service to our people.”

To follow the red flag warnings and wildfire potential in Texas, visit the Texas A&M University System Wildfire Tracker.