Crews, equipment arrive in Arizona to help battle wildfires

MESA, AZ - Firefighters from around the country came to the Valley Saturday to help fight the Arizona wildfires. On Sunday, some heavy duty equipment showed up to join them.

More firefighters and an air tanker made pit stops in Mesa on the way to fight wildfires across the southwestern U.S.

“We are in a wait-and-see mode,” said Capt. Ron Salazar, with his band of brothers from California.

They got the call Saturday night and made the 12-hour drive to Mesa’s Gateway Airport which is the staging area for fire crews.

Eight new crews made it to town Sunday, meaning more than 100 firefighters are here on standby.

Some of them are full time firefighters, mostly from the Pacific northwest, but some are seasonal workers and students.

Outside the East Valley airport sits a white and orange air tanker from California. It can drop up to 2,500 gallons of fire retardant at the push of a button. The crew took off after a few hours on the ground.

Some of the crews think they may be fighting fires in Arizona for up to a month.