Australian fire crews are finishing up their training with NIFC, getting ready to head out into the action.
"They received their fire shelter training, and they all seem to be in good spirits, and they're ready to go and help out on the fire line," said the spokesperson for NIFC, Jessica Gardetto.
They arrived in Boise this past weekend to gear up for the extreme fire season across the states. Heavy planes supervisor Gordon Tighe came from Australia to help out.
"It makes me proud that we can offer assistance and help out where we can," Tighe said.
Their first stop will be the fires in California and Oregon, and soon they'll be joined with even more helping hands from the military.
"The military personnel are going to receive some wildland firefighter training, but thankfully since they're active military they have a very good concept of fighting fire," Gardetto said,
Right now there are more than 120 fires actively burning in the united states. About 200 military personnel are heading to the northwest next week to assist the fire crews who've been fighting the flames since fire season began.
"there are a lot of firefighters who have been on the line for weeks in some cases months," Gardetto said.
Military personnel is not expected to be needed in Idaho unless the fires amp up.
"At this point they're not going to be coming to fires in Idaho, but that could change if we start experiencing more fire activity in the state," Gardetto said.
NIFC says all the extra help is welcome and the team effort is vital for suppressing the flames. =
"They're used to working together, in close quarters, even sleeping near each other they're for the next couple of weeks or months.. they're very resilient people."
