Dozens of out-of-state firefighters are helping battle the massive wildfire that has burned thousands of acres in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

The fire has shut down a large part of the park for several days since it first started burning Friday.

It's just one of the 115 active wildfires burning about 30,000 acres across the state as of Monday afternoon. About 5,000 acres have been charred by the Black Point Fire.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service firefighters such as Steven Natho are trading the mountains of southwest Oklahoma for the flat, humidity-prone land of Florida.

"Where we're at, it's mountainous — a lot of rocks," Natho said. "(Here) it's different."

What's not different for Natho — and others working in Florida from states such as Alabama, Colorado and Mississippi — is being away from family for long periods of time.

This current stint is 14 days — two weeks without seeing his loved ones and his girlfriend of two years.

"She knows the ballgame," Natho said. "She knows it can change. Everyone in the firefighting community kind of takes that on."

Despite his time away from loved ones, Natho's work on Florida's east coast is valuable to the people who live here — those who probably will never see him.

"I love it," he said about fighting the fires. "I wouldn't do anything else."

Officials hope to reopen part of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to the public as early as Wednesday.