By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Some Hutchinson firefighters left Wednesday morning to fight a wildland fire in Wyoming.
"Three firefighters and a brush truck from Hutch Fire is heading west," said Chief Steven Beer. "They left literally at 6:00 this morning."
They will be busy after their 10-hour drive to fight the Mullen fire.
"Their first operational period will start tomorrow morning," Beer said. "For the next 14 days in a row, they'll be working 16 to 18 hours a day."
This mutual aid request is part of Hutchinson's relationship with the Kansas Forest Service for fighting wildfires.
"What's nice about this program with the federal government on these wildland fires is that they actually cover our backfill for our positions," Beer said. "They actually pay the guys wages while they're out there being deployed and they also pay the City of Hutchinson money for the piece of equipment that's being deployed."
Beer reminds Hutchinson residents that over 150 fire units were brought in from all over to defend the city from its wildfire threat in 2017.