LOXLEY, Ala. — Wildfire. The word alone makes one sit up, sniff the air and survey the surroundings. Are we OK? Will it miss us? Do we need to run?

Safely getting away from a wildfire is a smart thing to do.

However, there is a band of men and women who head into a wildfire to control the flames and spare lives and property.

They are wildland firefighters, and the Alabama Forestry Commission sent 26 firefighters to West Texas this fire season. Until recently, that part of the country had been extremely dry, and wildfires consumed about 712,571 acres and burned 1,187 structures according to an Alabama Forestry Commission press release.

While the fires in California have occupied a lot of attention, the Texas fires have been a big concern.

“We have the “Southern Compact,” said Patrick Waldrop, the Work Unit Manager of the Baldwin County AFC office in Loxley.

That means that the Forestry Commission has an agreement with nearby states to come and help in the event of a wildfire. It helps the other states, and should we need it, help is available to us. The AFC also has agreements with the U.S. Forestry Service to provide similar aid.

While Waldrop says that Baldwin County is the second-ranking county in the state for the number of wildfires, the season this year has been light enough to send several work crews to the fires in Texas.

To prevent wildfires from starting in the area when you intend to burn leaves or other yard waste, it’s necessary to obtain a “burn permit,” by calling 1-800-672-3076. It’s also a good idea to contact your local fire department, if one serves your area.

Ross Presley a forest ranger from Perdido and Joseph Donnelly, a county forester who lives in Loxley were two of the firefighters who were sent from Alabama to Texas to fight the fires at the end of August.

And besides the fire, there’s plenty to worry about in west Texas.

“You have to worry about bees, the africanized killer bees,” explained Presley. “You also have some difficult topography, and if you see illegals in a fire area you are not to approach them.”

Presley explained that the firefighters would have a procedure for notifying the proper authorities that they spotted someone and they would take care of it. Presley added that it was thought some illegal immigrants had weapons and would shoot at firefighters.

Much of the firefighters work was “putting in fire lanes,” Donnelly said This involves using bulldozer-like machines that cuts into and turns over the soil to make six to ten-foot wide “fire breaks” that would stop the spread of the fire.

The terrain in west Texas is rough and there is a lot of mesquite that burns hot, but like parts of this area the “Cogongrass” burns hotter, Donnelly says.

Getting the equipment to the fires took a lot of logistics, said Donnelly.

“We’d stage in a lot of parking lots,” explained Donnelly. “We’d have a briefing and then go over all the equipment.”

The equipment Donnelly added, were lots of 18-wheeled trucks, “low boy” trailers and of course the bulldozers to cut the fire lanes. There was a lot of hand work as well, hacking and turning up vegetation.

This was before the firefighters’ “turnout gear” weighing about 25 pounds, would be checked.

Both men said that the work was long and hot and both were relieved when late summer rain finally came to that drought-stricken part of the country so they both could go home.

Presley has been fighting fire “all my life.” He’s been with the AFC for 14 years, and enjoys “working with volunteer fire departments.”

Donnelly says he began as a county forester, and “did not expect to be a firefighter.”

“I wanted to work outside,” said Donnelly. “I like being out there, and I enjoy being in the woods.”