Montana Firefighters Get An Assist From New York Fire Department

It's been a pretty smoky summer in Missoula, as smoke from wildfires all around the state and in other parts of the country has been carrying over. It's sometimes tough to keep track of where all the wildfires have been taking place - though this website does a good job of it and lets you know when and where wildfires are happening, and how contained they are.

A quick glance at that site will show you dozens of active wildfires in Montana alone, and this year has been tougher than most in trying to fight them. Just a few weeks ago, we wrote about how a jet fuel shortage is making it more difficult for smokejumpers and firefighting planes to do their jobs efficiently.

So Montana firefighters need all the help they can get, and help has been coming in from all over the country. This week, the New York Fire Department arrived with a special team of 51 members to help lend a hand. This is a critical time for their arrival, as the weather conditions are potentially shifting, which could result in more fires over the next few weeks.

They'll be here for the next two weeks to join the team of over 4500 firefighters already on the scene. We've been experiencing some cooler weather recently, so hopefully that's a signal that the tide may be turning and that these fires will finally start to die out.