Some of Colorado's finest are heading to California to help bring the wildfires under control.

Firefighting hits close to home for me. My father was a firefighter. In the late 60's- early 70's he spent several years in Viet Nam training the South Vietnamese to fight fires caused by the war. Many of my family, my step-father, uncles, and cousins have, or are currently working, in the fire department. Most of them in the Kansas City metro area.

Yesterday, firefighters from across Colorado used Grand Junction as a "staging area" so to speak on their way west to fight the massive wildfires in Northern Californa. These fires have killed dozens and destroyed thousands of homes and structures. They were called up by the Colorado Department of Emergency Management after a request for assistance came from the California authorities. The Colorado firefighters will spend the next two weeks trying to bring the fires under control. Our thoughts and prayers are with the men and woman on the front lines and the families in Northern California that lost so very much.

One only needs to drive to the nearest movie theater to get a glimpse of just how dangerous fighting these fires can be. Only The Bravetells the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, an elite group of Arizona-based firefighters who fought the Yarnell Mountain fire with tragic results.

The following are the Colorado crews heading to California.

  • Hotchkiss Fire District
  • Poudre Valley Fire Authority
  • Northeast Teller County Fire District
  • Telluride Fire Protection District
  • Upper Pine River Fire Protection District
  • Lake Dillon Fire Rescue
  • Berthoud Fire Protection District
  • Fairmount Fire
  • Tallahassee Volunteer Fire Protection
  • South Metro Fire Rescue
  • Elk Creek Fire Department
  • Arvada Fire Protection District
  • Greeley Fire Department
  • Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control Alamosa Engine
  • Aspen Fire Department
  • Grand Fire Protection District
  • Aurora Fire Rescue
  • Thornton Fire Department
  • Lefthand Fire Protection District
  • Douglas County Sheriff’s Office

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