Some Michigan firefighters are in the Western U.S. right now helping battle massive wildfires that have taken over parts of the state.
The state Department of Natural Resources started sending volunteer firefighters west last month to help with efforts to control wildfires.
As of last week, the department had 17 people out on individual assignments and dispatched 5 engines with either 2 or 3 person crews.
Paul Dunn is a DNR firefighter from Beaverton who just returned from Los Angeles fighting the Lake Fire.
He says a lot of his time was spent monitoring it to make sure there weren’t any flareups.
"We were there doing a lot of stuff that you don’t see on TV, so we’re doing a lot of behind the scenes things that there’s not a lot of fire there’s not a lot of smoke," Dunn said.
Michigan firefighters have also been dispatched to Colorado, Arizona, Utah and Oregon.
The state is being fully reimbursed for the cost of sending firefighters to assist in other states.