HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Another Hutchinson fire crew is headed out west.
According to a release from the department, around 10 a.m. Thursday, the Hutchinson Fire Department received a request for mutual aid through the Kansas Forestry Service for assistance at a growing fire in Colorado. Orders were received to arrive in Granby, Colorado by tonight. The Hutchinson Fire Department deployed a team of four wildland certified firefighters and one Type 1 Engine as of 4 p.m. Thursday.
The growing fire is named the East Troublesome Fire. The East Troublesome Fire is only 5% contained and growing rapidly with high winds and Red Flag conditions. The Fire has grown to over 125,000 acres. Efforts are focused on evacuations. The East Troublesome Fire has burned into the Rocky Mountain National Park and is progressing towards Estes Park.
Hutchinson crews are joining forces with a crew from Wichita and Johnson County Consolidated Fire District 2. Once on scene they will join other resources to form Strike Teams of Structural Engines to do structure protection.