VIDEO: As Alabama Forestry officials keep an eye on dry conditions at home, the wildfire threat is even worse out west. Sometimes local firefighters are sent to lend a hand. Wildfires can be a problem anywhere, but in Idaho, the lay of the land is different.
“The terrain is a lot different. We’re a lot flatter here in Mobile and Baldwin County,” Forestry Specialist William Robertson said. “The terrain, you know, with the mountains and stuff, fires driven by terrain over wind, and that’s the conditions, takes them a little longer to control fires.” Robertson just finished a three-week stint in Central Idaho, helping firefighters out west with a recent rash of fires. “I was over structure protection so there [were] a lot of cabins that we had to protect with technical hose lays and sprinkler systems up beside the mountains. The guys put in long hours out there,” Robertson said. A lot of fire skills and experience can apply no matter what state you’re in. The Alabama firefighters who participate in cross-state mutual aid inevitably come home with some new tricks.
