Florida firefighters spend vacation fighting wildfires out west

Like many, Will Raulerson and Matt Kennard are returning from their summer vacation. Instead of relaxing by a beach, their vacations were spent battling wildfires in places like Colorado, New Mexico and California.

“You’re thinking four five six days ahead to contain the fire.” Raulerson just returned from a trip to Utah, where he battled the 56-acre Dollar Ridge fire.

“There were a lot of homes in danger, a lot of homes lost in this fire.”

The twenty year veteran says, the biggest challenge is seeing the loss.

“It’s not easy, it's never easy to watch people come to their homes and realize they lost it.”

Kennard handles the logistics, making sure fighters like Raulerson have food and equipment.
“It just depends on the of the fire activity the demands of the fire each fire's different.”

Both men said they’d be ready to go back, to help the hundreds in danger out west.