RHINELANDER, WI (WSAU-WXPR) — Fire crews from Central Wisconsin are on the ground in Colorado to help battle some of the worst wildfires in that state’s history.

Some 20 firefighters from the Wisconsin Interagency Coordination Crew left Thursday to begin working in Southwest Colorado. The group consists of staff from the forest service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin.

Ron Waukau from Keshena is leading the crew. As of Friday morning, they had just arrived and were awaiting marching orders for what will likely be some very long days ahead. “We will probably be averaging between 14 and 16 hours per day,” he told WXPR news in Rhinelander.

Waukau says he expects to be on the job for about 14 days in Colorado before being replaced by another interagency crew from another region.

As of Sunday night, there were six fires burning in Colorado, all west of Interstate 25. Four of those fires were located along a line from Colorado Springs south to Pueblo, two others were located north of Durango in the San Juan National Forest. Combined, the fires have already burned well over 160,000 acres according to the Denver Post.