The Chugiak Volunteer Fire Department sent a pair of brush trucks and two firefighters north to assist with fighting the growing Interior wildfires.

The department got a call from the Alaska Division of Forestry asking for assistance and Chief Bruce Bartley asked the members of his department if anyone was available to head north. A pair of firefighters stepped up.

This is the third major wildfire the all-volunteer department has deployed both personnel and apparatus to help combat. The other fires were in Homer and Sterling.

"It's the most times we've deployed in one summer," said CVFD spokesman Jeff Hartley. "At least it's the most I can remember. We're just happy to be able to provide the support necessary to fight the fires."

Working in cooperation with the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Fire Department, which provided additional personnel to man the trucks, the crews headed north Sunday bound for the Nenana fire.

"They were diverted before they could get there," said Hartley. "They got a call from the command post and were sent to Circle, to help keep the fire from destroying any buildings."

The crews will assist with the firefighting effort as long as needed, according to Hartley.

"It could be two weeks or two months," he said. "If it lasts too long we'll find new personnel to relieve those who are on the frontlines of the fire."

Progress has been made constructing and holding fire lines on the portions of the Bluff Creek fire near the community of Circle. The fire remains 10 miles east of Circle Hot Springs and 16 miles from Central. However, because of westward fire movement, containment and structure protection contingency activities have been initiated in the Circle Hot Springs area.

The Anchorage Fire Department also sent two brush rigs north to help fight the fires in Interior Alaska.

The engines and four AFD firefighters are headed to the Railbelt Complex near Nenana Aug. 6. The deployment will last two weeks, according to AFD spokeswoman Jenny Collins.

"Deployments to large, complex wildfires provides excellent training and hands-on experience for our Anchorage Fire Department personnel," Acting Fire Chief Doug Schrage said. "We want to be good neighbors to our fellow firefighters in the wildland realm, and this is just one way we can help."

With the brush trucks from both the CVFD and AFD out of town, Hartley said the department requests people use caution when starting fires in the area.

"Despite the recent rain we've had, the fire danger is still high," Hartley said. "With our resources tasked up north the situation is not the best."

According to the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center, so far this year 495 fires have burned 2,583,733 acres statewide. Right now 81 fires are active in Alaska and 14 of the fires are staffed.

Reach the reporter at darrell.breese.@alaskastar.com.

This article published in The Alaska Star on Thursday, August 13, 2009.