Waitaki deputy rural fire officer Kerry O'Neill is one of 15 New Zealand firefighters helping contain wildfires raging in the United States.
North Otago reporter Rebecca Ryan spoke to him during one of two rest days in Idaho.
Q Where are you based?
A Our group of 69 (15 Kiwis and 54 Aussies) is split into groups fighting in various fire ''complexes'' in Oregon and Washington states. I spent the first 14 days of the deployment at the Okanogan Fire Complex with the fire camp being based in Okanogan, northwest Washington State.
The Okanogan Fire Complex is made up of four fires run by one management team, and now covers approx 132,000 acres (53,000ha) with a large number of structures lost to the fire.
Q What is your role?
A My role is as a task force leader - supervising crews and equipment on the fire line.
Q What does a typical day involve for you?
A Morning starts at 5am breakfast. First briefing at 5.30am, second at 6am. The incident management team gives an overall view of the fire and progress of the previous day's work and targets for day.
We then break into smaller groups for each division of the fire for a more detailed briefing, then I meet with my resources for that day - fire engine crews, hand crews (20 people) and any drivers for any heavy equipment to be used (i.e. bulldozers).
By 7am we pick up lunch, drink and any equipment required, then leave camp for the fire. Drive time can be up to one hour. Once on the fire line, I organise crews to carry out required assignments for the day.
My role is then to move between the crews and sort any problems, ensure the work is being done safely and that everyone is happy. This usually involves lots of walking and driving in very hot and dusty conditions.
We normally finish at 8pm then head back to fire camp for meal and shower. Debrief at 9pm, then sleep.
Q What are some of the challenges you are facing?
A Understanding the way tasks are carried out here and being responsible for a large amount of personnel and machinery resources.
Driving on the other side of the road has not been a problem except in the evening after a long day and feeling tired. With the fire camp having hundreds of personnel, there are queues for everything - showers, dining area and picking up supplies.
Q How does it differ to fighting fires in New Zealand?
A Much the same methods, just on a much larger scale. Different fuel types (trees and vegetation). Different weather patterns to learn.
Q What's it been like working with the international fire crews?
A All the crews have been great to work with. Most think I am from Australia but once I correct them they all want to know about New Zealand and how they can come down and fight fires or visit.
Some crews don't speak much English so have a spokesman who passes on the tasking to rest of the crew members. A lot of the crews are contractors so this is their main income for the summer season.
They work hard so they can come back next season. Crews come from all over America as required for a 14 day shift.
This can be extended out to 21 days, then they are required to have two days' break and then are reassigned. I look forward to my two days off after 14 days on the fire line doing 14-16 hour days.
Q Have you ever experienced anything like this before?
A I have been on deployment to Victoria, Australia, twice but the fires here are much larger.
Q Why did you want to help?
A To have the experience of how they manage such a large and complex group of fires. The amount of resourcing of crews and equipment is beyond anything that NZ would ever experience.
Q When are you likely to return home?
A We have done one 14 day deployment and are about to begin our second 14 day deployment. Once that is done, we make our way back to the National Interagency Fire Centre in Boise for a debrief and fly back to New Zealand about the beginning of October.
