Wyoming county fire chiefs tell appropriations committee demand for hand crews and overhead outpaced supply; dispatch data show 509 crew requests in 2024–25

County fire wardens and chiefs told the committee that local capacity for hand crews, trained overhead and emergency funding remain brittle in the face of rising wildfire demand.

Chad Cooper (Silva County Unified Fire), J. R. Fox (Campbell County), Jason Coy (Laramie County Fire Authority) and John Rutherford (Carbon County) described how improved coordination with State Forestry and aviation resources improved outcomes this season but said that counties regularly need access to additional modules and overhead. The witnesses said that volunteerism remains vital but patchy and that counties depend on state and federal partners for surge capacity.

Fire chiefs provided dispatch‑level measures of demand: across 2024 and 2025 Wyoming dispatch centers recorded 509 requests for hand crew or module resources and 408 resource orders for overhead such as incident commander type 3, division group supervisors or task force leaders. Witnesses said some orders were filled from outside the state (including Alaska), which increased response time, and noted that some requests initially go unfilled or are substantially delayed.

Local chiefs stressed the consequences of slow or unavailable overhead and hand crews — areas that lack experienced incident command or modules risk slower suppression and greater structure and resource loss — and asked the committee to support investments in state capacity, improved benefits to retain personnel, and continued EFSA replenishment to ensure counties can rely on statewide surge funds.