RIO BLANCO COUNTY, Colo. — Since early August, wildfires have burned on both sides of Meeker in Rio Blanco County. West of town, the Lee Fire has grown to more than 113,000 acres, an area larger than the entire city and county of Denver.
Now the fifth-largest blaze in Colorado history, the Lee Fire ignited on Aug. 2 and has challenged crews from the outset, 9 News reported.
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As firefighters battle the flames around the clock, embedded paramedics accompany them, ready to treat any crew member who gets hurt.
“You can’t let your guard down,” Eagle County Paramedic Robin Weiss, one of 12 Eagle County paramedics certified for wildland duty. Deployed to Rio Blanco County as a line medic, Weiss spends each day shadowing frontline crews, ready to treat injuries as they battle the blaze.
“It feels good to be out here and utilize my skills and what feels like really impactful way,” Weiss said. “This is the biggest fire I’ve been on, and it’s still raging.”
“Those firefighters are putting their necks on the line out there and they need good qualified, you know, paramedicine backing them up,” Paramedic Supervisor Hank Bevington said. “It’s pretty dangerous and being able to help out and lend a hand is makes, I think, everyone feel pretty good.”
Midway through his 14-day stint at the Lee Fire, Weiss says he relishes backing the larger mission and is ready to extend his deployment to keep firefighters safe.
