'Most intense fire I've ever been on': NC crews help fight flames of Bootleg fire

Some help can be done without leaving home.

Hannah Thompson-Welch has a virtual role, sending critical updates on progress and making contacts with fire officials.

"We are currently dispatching a lot of resources across the country to help our brothers and sisters in the west," said Thompson-Welch, a fire mitigation specialist. "We train all year for this so that we can help."

Teams from all over the country are pitching in.

The fire has destroyed an area half the size of Rhode Island. It was 40% surrounded after burning some 70 homes, mainly cabins, fire officials said. At least 2,000 homes were ordered evacuated at some point during the fire, and an additional 5,000 were threatened.

"From the the time I left North Carolina, to the time I got back was 17 days," said Jonathan Pearson with the North Carolina Forest Service. "As soon as I got my rental vehicle, I could see the smoke two hours away so I knew this was going to be a pretty active fire."

Pearson said it was "the most intense fire I've ever been on." He spent days fighting the fire, spending several nights in a tent. Teams used bulldozers to create a dirt barrier so the fire wouldn't have any other vegetation to burn.

Motivating him was helping everyone who had their lives turned upside down by the fire.

"Putting yourself in those people's shoes who are being evacuated, you want to try to do everything you can to help those people and get the fire contained," Pearson said.