Capt. Lyla Furey fought in Afghanistan and Iraq; but soon she'll deploy to face a different enemy: wildfires in California.
She can’t wait.
“We joined the Army to help people,” said Furey, “It’s really great to be able to do that, especially in their time of need.”
Furey is one of 200 active duty soldiers based at Joint Base Lewis McChord being equipped and trained to fight wildfires. Furey, who works in military intelligence, has been in the Army for more than six years.
They’re being sent to the Mendocino Complex Fire in Northern California Friday, which is now the largest wildfire in California history.
Furey said her husband is used to her being sent away on short notice.
“He’s been a spouse for deployments before,” said Furey, “This is only 30 days and there’s nobody shooting at us. That’s nice.”
