They weren’t on the front lines, but the rangers said the experience of keeping the community safe was rewarding.

State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers Hannah O’Connor, from Saranac Lake; Neilson Snye, from Lake Pleasant; and Mark Brand, from the Indian Lake area were all deployed.

The crew assisted with firefighting efforts at the Smith River Complex Fire, a fire which burned more than 94,500 acres and is currently 95% contained.

“I thank them all for answering the call from our neighbors in the west,” DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said in a statement. “When DEC’s forest rangers and other trained wildland firefighters reached this fire, it was only 21% contained. Thanks in part to their expertise, and some help from the weather, communities are better protected and the fire is nearly contained.”

Local rangers Hannah O’Conner from Saranac Lake, standing in the back right, and Neilson Snye from Lake Pleasant, standing in the front right, spent two weeks helping manage the Smith River Complex Fire in California late last month. Also seen here, from left, are rangers and DEC employees Bob Mackenzie, Tim Yeatts, Hannah Bieber and Dan Kinsley. (Provided photo — Nick Johnson)

Smith River is a small town of fewer than 700 people situated less than three miles from the Pacific coast and around five miles south of the Oregon state line.

Forest Ranger Robert “Erik” Stratton from Sullivan County served as the crew boss on the two-week assignment, leading nine rangers, nine of the DEC’s wildland firefighters from four DEC divisions, and one volunteer firefighter as they worked alongside 38 crews from across the country.

For O’Connor, this was her third trip out west to firefight. This time, she was a squad boss, meaning she was in charge of the safety and welfare of five other members of the crew — all DEC employees.

The fire broke out one month before they got there, with a lightning strike sparking the wild lands on Aug. 15. Initial firefighting is meant to keep the fire as small as possible and not let it spread to residential areas.

The New York crew arrived at the tail end of significant fire activity, Brand said, and worked on the contingency fire line in case the fire jumped the primary line. It never did, and they worked to renaturalize the fire line.

DEC forest rangers and employees — including Indian Lake area ranger Mark Brand, seen at right — spent two weeks helping manage the Smith River Complex Fire in California late last month. (Provided photo — Nick Johnson)

In the Adirondacks, fire lines are created by raking or blowing leaves to remove the fuel that could allow the fire to spread. Out there, it required more machinery. They used bulldozers and masticators to clean up old fire line, chipped a lot of brush and removed fuels from secondary fire lines.

Brand said this was not the “super fun” and “sexy firefighting” of being on the front lines, but they were helping to return the town “back to normal.”

“It basically looked like a natural disaster blew through,” O’Connor said. “There were just trees down everywhere.

“We made it look more natural for the community. To make it look less like a natural disaster came through and more like home,” she added

“We rode it right to the end,” Brand said. The fire camp they stayed at was broken down right after they left.

DEC forest rangers and employees — including local ranger Neilson Snye from Lake Pleasant — spent two weeks helping manage the Smith River Complex Fire in California late last month. (Provided photo — Nick Johnson)

He said it was nice to see that transition point in a fire. It’s a point they do not always get to see.

“When New Yorkers see others in need, we jump into action,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement. “I’m thankful for New York’s dedicated wildland firefighters willing to leave their friends and family to help strangers and I’m happy to welcome them back home.”

All of the rangers said it was a very rewarding experience.

“We just love helping people,” O’Connor said.

This was not “glamorous” work like that on the fire line, Snye said, but it provided great experience and knowledge to bring back to New York and it was humbling to hear feedback from the communities.

“It’s great to walk through the airports and everybody’s so ecstatic to see the state of New York responding all the way to California to fight fires,” Snye said.

He said the locals were supportive and the whole experience was “humbling and rewarding.”

Brand described a slight difference in perception of their crew from the West Coast teams over their two-week assignment there. When they arrived, the sense they got was that people were saying “Oh, there’s that crew from New York.” When they left, he described the chatter evolving into a more chummy “There’s the New York crew!”

He’s proud of New York having a good reputation in the firefighting community. Each fire takes lots of people throwing effort at it to keep it safe.

“It’s a big machine,” Brand said. “It gives you a sense of camaraderie and accomplishment when you’re working towards a common goal with so many people.”

The terrain was steep with lots of box canyons that could form like chimneys to spread fire, Brand said.

“The potential for extreme fires is all over that terrain,” he said.

Brand said the natural fuels out west are more volatile, so the fire lines are bigger.

“Certain forest types want to burn. They’re designed and they’ve evolved to burn,” Brand said. “What we can do is manage the fuel load on these forest types so when they do burn it’s not catastrophic.”

This involves prescribed burns and removing “ladder fuels.” But to do that on a large scale is cost-prohibitive, and California is a huge region.

Certain pine cones only open to release their seeds in high heat, Brand said, so for that species to regenerate, they need fire. Constantly preventing fires can cause bigger fires, he added, because when the next one happens, it becomes catastrophic.

Brand said the area had seen fire a few years ago and the scars could still be seen in the 100-foot pines and Douglass firs blackened most the way up their trunks.

New York has been sending firefighting crews to assist western states with large wildfires since 1979. On average, one or two crews have been sent as needed to assist with wildfires every year since, according to Hochul’s office.

This deployment marked the ninth in what Hochul’s office called a “busy fire year” this year. DEC rangers also were deployed to Quebec and Nova Scotia in Canada earlier this summer to fight fires there.

According to Hochul’s office, these efforts are paid for directly by the U.S. Forest Service or reimbursed to New York state based on a mutual aid agreement.

All of the rangers said they would would do this again if they get the chance.

“If the opportunity arises it would be great to send more rangers to do this every year,” O’Connor said. “It makes us better public servants.”

Forest rangers deployed also included Michael Chappell from Onondaga and Cayuga counties, Evan Donegan from Warren County, Patrick Dormer from Ontario and Yates counties, John Gullen from Columbia County, Melissa Milano from Hamilton County and Evan Nahor from Saratoga County,

DEC employees deployed included Hannah Bieber from Cortland County, James Canevari, Jr. from Jefferson County, Josh Choquette from Delaware County, Eric Egger from Steuben County, Nicholas Johnston from Albany County, Dan Kinsley from Albany County, Robert Mackenzie from Ulster County, Kyle Olson from Cortland County and Timothy Yeatts from Ulster County.

Lawrence Day, Jr. joined as a volunteer firefighter.