BERNARD SHAW, CNN ANCHOR: In the Western United States, the massive effort to fight fires raging across nine states is ongoing and exhausting. CNN's Greg Lefevre reports from the front lines of this battle.</s>GREG LEFEVRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Valley Complex fires of more than 150,000 acres should have 3,000 to 5,000 firefighters working. But with dozens of fires raging across the West, there are fewer than 1,000 here. Now, small fire crews fight huge fires by nipping at the flames.</s>STEVE GAGE, INCIDENT COMMANDER: This year, we're having to go to more of a hot-spotting, or guerrilla tactics, and just hit it where we can, keep it out of the structures, and keep moving.</s>LEFEVRE: With satellite imagery and infrared photos, fire bosses make hourly decisions, knowing that there is no one to spare.</s>GEORGE MOTSCHALL, OPERATIONS DIRECTOR: We have to look at the terrain. We have to see what the fire's doing, correlate that to the weather. In a nutshell, we've got all kinds of tools we use. We got bulldozers. We have hand crews. We have engines. We have sprinkler systems. So the issue is what goes where and how much of it.</s>LEFEVRE: It's a tactical game of chess, with the lives of firefighters and the future of the forest at stake. If fire is enemy number one, fatigue must be a close second.</s>MOTSCHALL: You know, it can affect your decision-making. It can certainly interrupt your production capabilities and what not. In the bottom line, we're all humans. You can only go so long. You got to take a break.</s>LEFEVRE: Firefighters work two weeks on, then two days off, more if needed, because the fire season has more than a month to go and there will be many more fires after this one. Greg Lefevre, CNN, Darby, Montana.
Fire Fatigue: Enemy Number Two for Western Firefighters