Colorado Springs-area firefighters are being deployed out of state to help battle a few of the nearly 100 wildfires burning in the U.S.

The wildfires have burned a total of 2,083,405 acres, mostly in the western U.S., according to the National Interagency Fire Center’s website Monday.

The need for assistance happens when a state’s local firefighting resources are exhausted. If crews are available to assist elsewhere, they are put on a list from which they can be called.

At least three fire departments in the Pikes Peak region are helping out of state.

Fire captains and lieutenants from the Colorado Springs Fire Department’s Wildland Program, a group that specializes in wildfire management, are helping lead and manage several fires in Oregon and Idaho, according to Ashley Franco, a department spokesperson.

One of these fires, the Gwen fire in Idaho, was caused by a lightning strike and reached up to 27,714 acres and was at 0% containment on Monday.

The Colorado Springs department also has a team deployed in Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado to manage fires that started because of lightning strikes.

Firefighters also come to help in Colorado when it is needed. Franco said the last time out-of-state crews came to assist around Colorado Springs were the Black Forest and Waldo Canyon fires in 2013 and 2012, respectively.

“For Colorado, we’re in wildfire season for 365 days, so it can kind of happen any time,” she said.

The Northeast Teller County and Cañon City fire departments also have crews assisting with fires in California.

One of Teller County’s fire captains, Robert Dungan, said their department typically gets called upon to assist in structure protection, which involves preparing buildings for incoming fires .

Cañon City Area Fire Protection District Captain Shane Roberts said their crew typically assists in burnout operations and backburning.

“Everyone’s got a role that they play,” Dungan said. “We’re just one tool in their toolbox that they call for.”

Crews from both departments drove firetrucks to California, which Dungan said can take up to four days.

Standard deployment for crews is 14 days on top of travel, but they can get extended under extreme circumstances. Crew swaps can also happen if there is still a need for the extra assistance.

Roberts said the crews are given everything they need to live outside on their own for three days. A majority of the time the firefighters will sleep in tents while deployed, but rougher conditions may necessitate putting the crews in motels.

“It’s a terrific opportunity for folks to go because we get more seasoned firefighters who have dealt with bigger incidents. It’s incredibly valuable,” Roberts said.

It’s also common for fire departments to help agencies battle fires statewide. The Monument Fire Department recently deployed a crew to the Durango area to help with a blaze, a department official said.

The system that calls on state responders is organized by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, an organization that leads and coordinates with the state crews they call upon to assist in the wildfires.

The crews are then led by incident management teams, which are in charge of managing the logistical, fiscal, planning, operational, safety and community and public information issues related to the emergency.

Blazes burning across Colorado, U.S.

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, there were 94 large active wildfires being managed nationwide as of Monday. More than 27,000 wildland firefighters and support personnel have been deployed to combat the blazes as of Monday.

One of these fires is becoming one of the largest fires in California history. The Park fire was at 368,256 acres and only 12% containment Monday, making it the sixth largest wildfire in the state, according to California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Another wildfire known as the Alexander Mountain fire started Monday just west of Loveland and grew hundreds of acres within the first day.