FORT PIERRE, S.D.(DRGNews)- Three members of the Fort Pierre Fire Department are headed west to help with wildfires that raging out of control Oregon, California, Washington, Montana and Idaho.  Assistant Chief Ty Odden says Fort Pierre’s Type Six apparatus was picked up and assigned to a fire roughly 30 minutes after the department made it available.

Odden says the Fort Pierre Fire Department has a contract with the State of South Dakota to place their unit available on a rotation through Great Plains Dispatch , which currently has multiple orders requesting assistance.

Odden says the employers of all three members going to Washington are more than understanding to allow the men to be gone to help in the fire fight.

The Fort Pierre Fire team is expecting to be gone, with travel time for approximately 18 days; fourteen of those days will be in direct combat against the Sherwood Fire in Wellpinit, Washington which is approximately 40 miles northwest of Spokane.  As of Monday, the fire was 30-percent contained.   They will be working 16 hour days during their assignment.