Jackson Free Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A crew of 20 wildland firefighters from Mississippi is heading to California to help prevent the spread of wildfires.

The crew will remain in California for two weeks and will be assisting on the Salt Fire in the Shasta Trinity National Forest, according to the Mississippi Forestry Commission.

“Fighting the destructive power of wildfire means our wildland firefighters are working long hours in extreme conditions protecting people’s lives, homes and forestland," Russell Bozeman, the commission's state forester, said in a news release.

Team members trained in wildland firefighting tactics will attempt to contain wildfires by constructing a fireline with hand tools. A fireline is a strip of land cleared of flammable vegetation down to the mineral soil, creating a perimeter clear of fuel around the wildfire.

“It’s a lot more labor intensive, just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, our crews here in Mississippi, they undergo training for this type of deployment and so they are ready to assist when they’re called upon,” said Jason Scott, a forestry commission spokesman.