STEVENS POINT - Monroe native Michael Wolfe's passion for forestry took a thrilling turn as he was part of a crew from the University of Wisconsin Stevens-Point invited to help fight raging wildfires in Wyoming and Colorado in July.

Wolfe, a 2010 Monroe High School grad, is a wildland firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service. He is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point who was stationed in the Medicine Bow Laramie Mountain range and patrolled south Douglas, Wyo. to south Casper, Wyo. Wolfe worked on an engine truck in putting out five fires in Wyoming.

"It's a thrill whether it's a tree on fire or whether it's a prescribed fire in a prairie," Wolfe said. "It was a good aspect for me learning at school and going out to participate."

Wolfe said most of the fires in the west start by a lightning strike and most are one-tenth to a one-quarter of an acre and take five to six firefighters to put out.

"The only one you hear about is the big fire," he said. "The Medicine Bow Laramie range had 45 fires last year. There were 44 other fires people didn't hear about."

He was part of a 20-man hand crew that was called to a wildfire between Del Norte and South Fork and Creede, Colo., that covered about 100,000 acres. Wolfe was responsible for trail clearings during the fire. He had to cut down some trees and clear a trail so the fire couldn't spread.

"It was a black area," Wolfe said of the charred remnants of the fire. "The trees standing could have come down at any minute. It's definitely not a walk in the park."

Record high temperatures and dry conditions fueled wildfires across Colorado and the U.S. in June and July. According to the Associated Press, the wildfires killed two people and burnt 419 homes in Colorado Springs. Nine 20-person saw crews are conducting road clearing operations in Boulder and Larimer Counties to provide access for local, state, and Federal search and rescue teams.

Wolfe said he was always worried with each fire he helped fight.

"The point where people get hurt is when they get lackadaisical when the hair on the back of their neck is standing up and they don't even notice it," he said.

He worked 15-and-a-half hour days for 14 days straight clearing the trails.

Wolfe said it was helpful to see smaller fires and how they are regenerating. One of the biggest challenges for Wolfe was a different way of fighting fires in the west that required firefighters to hike 3.7 miles at one point.

"Most of them (crews) can't drive engines up to the fire," he said. "They have to hike with a chain saw and other tools up a mountain with a 45- to 100-pound bag. It's a whole new world working out west."

The wildfires came before the flash floods that hit Colorado last week, which killed three people and left rescuers searching for survivors. According to the Associated Press, the Boulder area was hit by more than 8 inches of rain last week. Numerous roads and highways were washed out. Thousands were evacuated from their homes and 400 students were evacuated from a University of Colorado dorm before the college canceled classes last week. Some of the flooding was fueled by wildfire burn scars that have aided the flooding.

When you have a big fire, there aren't enough trees and plants to slow the soil and water from plugging drains, Wolfe said.

Wolfe said with larger fires, one tool firefighters can use is contour firefighting, which requires firefighters to take trees and drop them perpendicular on a mountain to slow down the soil, soot and water from flooding a community.

Wolfe plans to graduate in the fall of 2014. He has worked with the state Department of Natural Resources through the Stevens Point interagency fire crew. Before he graduates, he plans to work in a forestry management position. The firefighting experience he had over the summer has helped to prepare him. He looks forward to determining the best way to use the land, balancing how many trees to plant per acre and determining the role of invasive species.

"We are starting to realize fire is a major part of forestry," he said. "It's a lot of hard work, but it's definitely thrilling."