Yuma crew part of team sent to help fight 2 wildfires in Arizona
SUN STAFF WRITER
The Arizona Department of Corrections (ADOC) announced on Tuesday that it has deployed six Wildland Fire Crews to help fight two wildfires that are currently burning within the state.
The fire crews, which are from the Yuma, Winslow, Florence, Lewis, Tucson and Safford Arizona State prison Complexes, have been sent to the Bighorn Fire, which is burning outside of Tucson, and the Tonto National Forest brush fire.
Each of the crews is made up of low-level offenders and have been sent as part of partnership between the
Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management and the ADOC
Currently, 113 inmates are actively fighting those two fires under the supervision and direction of state forestry and ADOC staff, and all have been trained to be professional wildland firefighters.
Some have also achieved advanced qualifications such as Firefighter Type 1, Sawyer, and Crew Boss. Each year, the crews work during wildfire season to help with suppression efforts as well as brush abatement outside of the fire season.
The ADOC had been restricting outside work crews as a precautionary measure during the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, but due to the size of the fires, additional personnel were needed.
Also, the ADOC has implemented precautionary COVID-19 measures for its fire crews, who will work and be housed separate from other firefighter crews.
Upon completion of their work on the fires, the ADOC Wildland Fire Crews will be quarantined, monitored for any symptoms for 14 days, and undergo medical testing to ensure they are free of COVID-19 prior to returning to their respective complexes.