The South Carolina Forestry Commission has sent more than two dozen wildland firefighters and other personnel to join crews battling wildfires in other states since March. As of this writing, the 25 SCFC personnel have deployed a total of 32 times to or are still on assignments in Alaska, California, Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, North Carolina and Utah. Their work assignments fall under a wide range of Incident Command System (ICS) roles, including logistics section chief, engine boss, liaison officer, situation unit leader and public information officer, among others.
| Name | Position | Deployment location | Date deployed |
| Wayne Eaddy | Engine boss | Black Cove Fire – North Carolina | 3/21 |
| John Rholetter | Firefighter type 2 | Black Cove Fire – North Carolina | 3/21 |
| Anneta Pritchard | Public information officer complex trainee | 2025 AICC GASS Support – Alaska | 6/23 |
| Andrew Williams | Public information officer type 3 trainee | Bear Creek Fire – Alaska | 6/25 |
| Andy Johnson | Logistics section chief type 3 | 2025 Cooper River Preposition – Alaska | 6/29 |
| Holly Welch | Public information officer complex trainee | 2025 AK Fire Information – Alaska | 6/29 |
| Brandon Smith | Engine boss | 2025 NELO Preposition – Severity (LEC) – Montana | 7/8 |
| Shawn Feldner | Liaison officer | Monroe Canyon Fire – Utah | 7/14 |
| Brian Davis | Situation unit leader | Monroe Canyon Fire – Utah | 7/27 |
| Wayne Eaddy | Dozer operator | CY2025 SRF Support – California | 7/31 |
| Colton Webb | Engine boss | 2025 KNF Support – Montana | 8/3 |
| Jon Thomas | Receiving/distribution manager | Bear Creek II Fire – Washington | 8/6 |
| Wade Truesdale | Heavy equipment boss | WADNR IA SUPPORT – Washington | 8/11 |
| Scotty Harrington | Engine boss trainee | WADNR IA SUPPORT – Washington | 8/11 |
| John Bryan | Firefighter type 1 | WADNR IA SUPPORT – Washington | 8/11 |
| Brandon Smith | Engine boss | WADNR IA SUPPORT – Washington | 8/11 |
| Brandon McReynolds | Firefighter type 1 trainee | WADNR IA SUPPORT -Washington | 8/11 |
| Matt Schnabel | Base/camp manager | Stoner Mesa Fire – Colorado | 8/14 |
| Brandon Craig | Base/camp manager | Monroe Canyon Fire – Utah | 8/14 |
| Andy Johnson | Logistics section chief complex trainee | Rock Fire – Idaho | 8/15 |
| Chris McCorkle | FUL trainee | Rock Fire – Idaho | 8/19 |
| Jackie Welch | Equipment manager | Cottonwood Peak Fire – Nevada | 8/20 |
| Shawn Feldner | Liaison officer | Monroe Canyon Fire – Utah | 8/22 |
| Brian Davis | Situation unit leader | Monroe Canyon Fire – Utah | 8/22 |
| Colton Webb | Engine boss | Oregon | 8/24 |
| William Yonce | Firefighter type 2 | Oregon | 8/24 |
| Christopher Todd Smith | Equipment manager | Dollar Lake Fire – Wyoming | 8/28 |
| Caleb Watson | Firefighter type 1 | Dillon Fire – Oregon | 8/29 |
| Chris Muckenfuss | Firefighter type 1 | Dillon Fire – Oregon | 8/29 |
| Darryl Jones | Agency representative | NIFC Large Fire Support – Idaho | 9/8 |
California
Manchester State Forest Forestry Technician Wayne Eaddy traveled to Six Rivers National Forest in California in July, marking his second deployment this year.
Alaska
Coastal Asst. Regional Forester Andrew Williams, Santee Unit Forester Anneta Pritchard and Environmental Program Manager Holly Welch traveled to Alaska to serve as Public Information Officers on different wildfires.
Andrew was assigned to the Bear Creek Fire located between Fairbanks and Denali National Park. He assisted the Alaska 1 Complex Incident Management Team with disseminating information to the public and producing videos for social media.
Anneta and Holly were assigned to the Bureau of Land Management-Alaska Fire Service Joint Information Center in Fairbanks. They worked with the rest of the staff to provide information to the public for the hundreds of fires, totaling 350 at the peak, that were burning across the state. In addition, they were responsible for writing the daily update for the Ninetyeight, Lush and Elephant fires for a portion of their detail.
Aerial resources and boats play an essential role in wildfire control in Alaska. They were used to drop water and retardant, and they also transported firefighters and supplies to remote areas that were not easily accessible.
Another unique part about Alaska: the crew didn’t see darkness the entire length of the detail. From left to right are views at 10 p.m., midnight and 3 a.m.
As covered in his cover column in this month’s issue of Tree Country, Coastal Region Firewise and Prevention Coordinator Andy Johnson also deployed to Alaska in July. Make sure to read about his intensive detail as well as his heartfelt tribute to his Piedmont Region counterpart Chris Revels, who died unexpectedly in May, and also enjoy these beautiful photographs he took while on assignment.
Montana
Lynches River Asst. Unit Forester and Marlboro Project Forester Brandon Smith deployed to Montana where he staffed a Montana Dept. of Natural Resources and Conservation Type 5 fire engine and ran initial attack on any new starts.
Brandon enjoyed exploring old caves during his off-duty time in Montana. A child’s handprint on one of the cave walls was dated by the state archaeologist to be around 1,500-2,000 years old!
North Carolina
Okay, so it’s not out west, but North Carolina was where Manchester State Forest Forestry Technician Wayne Eaddy was deployed in March; he was the first SCFC employee to travel out-of-state on a fire detail in 2025. Wayne worked as an engine boss on the Black Cove Fire in our neighbor to the north, which experienced an equally spectacular wildfire season this year.
