Union Pacific deploys fire car fleet in response to deadly wildfires

The Union Pacific Railroad has deployed its fire car fleet in the multi-state effort to protect the West's critical infrastructure and communities from deadly wildfires.

There are currently 107 large wildfires burning that have also burned more than 2 million acres across the region.

Eleven new large fires were reported on Thursday according to the National Interagency Fire Center, where it was noted that more than 23,700 wildland firefighters and support personnel were working in the effort.

According to a July Union Pacific news story, the company has 50 water tank cars that can respond to California, Oregon, Washington and Colorado fires.

The cars can hold between 7,000 to 23,000 gallons of water.

The crews have helped to douse spot fires and assist local and state first responders in hauling water into remote areas for filling trucks.

The wind-driven Lavafire in the Shasta Trinity National Forest that has now burned more than 26,000 acres proved a particular challenge for Union Pacific.

In trying to reach Dry Canyon Bridge, the company said the firefighting crew was forced to turn back and try again less than four hours later.

The bridge on fire smoke was all around it and there were small spot fires all over. At that point, we couldn't get close enough with the water tanks because the track was compromised, Jamie Hill, Union Pacific's Director of Bridge Maintenance and Engineering said in the article.

In the end, water from Union Pacific's water tank cars armed with nozzles that can spray upward of 75 feet managed to save an estimated 20 miles of train infrastructure on the morning of June 29.

At its peak the company said it had around 30 people a day running five to six water tank trains on a 90 - mile stretch of track about one third of which was actively endangered by three different fires in the forest.

The representative of Union Pacific told FOX Business on Friday that the bridge was repaired and there was a soft reopening on Aug. 1 30 days earlier than anticipated.

As the fire season ends, AccuWeather meteorologists predict that around 9.5 million acres of land will be scorched in the region this fire season.

Our fires were like no tomorrow. This is the most active section of miles I've seen in one time, says Hill.