Above: Engines on the Eldorado National Forest in California were loaded on semi trucks November 26 to be hauled to North Carolina to fight fires. USFS photo.

Often when large fire engines operated by the Federal agencies are dispatched to fires in distant locations they are transported on lowboy trailers pulled by semi trucks. These fire trucks, some weighing more than 30,000 pounds, are not really made for multi-day trips carrying up to five people. And, the additional wear and tear of putting thousands of miles on a resource that costs *$220,000 to $255,000 can make the decision to put it on a lowboy an easy one.

*Costs updated Dec. 3, 2016 for standard and all wheel drive Type 3 USFS engines.