As wildfire season is sweeping across Wyoming and surrounding states, aerial attacks are crucial in stopping the advance of flames that have devastated huge tracts of land, from rugged forests to critical forage for cattle.

These experienced pilots are supporting the hundreds of wildland firefighters on the ground and stand ready for up to 12 hours a day.

“I've been on a total of 20 different fires in Wyoming,” pilot Nick Dew told Cowboy State Daily about the 2025 fire season so far. “Some of those were spread over multiple days. I've had 61 separate drops, and I've dropped 38,358 gallons of retardant on those fires.”

Dew just moved his single engine air tanker (SEAT) base from the Worland Municipal Airport to a newly opened base in Gillette.

It is his first year fighting fires after a

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