WESTPORT — Deputy Fire Chief Michael Kronick has returned to local fire headquarters after more than two weeks helping battle wildfires in Minnesota and Montana as part of a crew of 19 firefighters dispatched from Connecticut.

“I’m proud to welcome back our deputy who epitomizes Westport’s values of sacrifice and service to others,” Fire Chief Robert Yost said in a statement Monday. “When communities and states need help, we can support our neighbors in their time of crisis battling dangerous wildfires. 

“The experience and knowledge he gained in working a large-scale incident are invaluable to us,” the chief added.

Kronick joined 18 other state firefighters dispatched by the Connecticut Interstate Fire Crew to provide assistance in fighting the western wildfires on July 28. He returned to Westport on Aug. 14.

Wildfires ravaging forests throughout the western U.S. recently prompted a warning to Connecticut residents about poor air quality caused by smoke from the blazes. “Since fires are still ongoing across the West, we’ll likely see some type of resurgence throughout the summer. And it’s possible that smoky summers may become the new reality,” Yost said.

Kronick’s CIFC crew was assigned to the Delta fire during the first week of deployment, a 67-acre section of the Superior National Forest burning outside Ely, Minn., according to a Westport Fire Department statement. They also worked with a second crew from West Virginia to douse the Niles Creek fire, a 2.5-acre fire caused by a lightning strike.

The state fire crew then moved to Montana, where they were assigned to the Trout Creek fire outside Absarokee.

That fire initially burned 200 acres of grass rangeland, threatening subdivisions along the Stillwater River, according to the report. 

But as the CIFC firefighters helped local and state firefighters protect nearby homes, the fire spread to about 8,315 acres in a matter of hours, prompting pre-evacuation notifications for portions of that county. 

In the following days, however, the crew was able to help contain the fire by digging and cutting lines in areas accessible only by foot and working with local fire crews to mop up remaining hot spots, the Fire Department reported.