WildfiresHundreds of fires blazing across more than 1.1 million acres in the West
Wildfires have been ravaging large parcels of land in the West and there seems to be no end in sight for the weary Westerners. There are hundreds of individual fires blazing across at least 1.1 million acres in the West. Both the military and foreign firefighting crews have been called in to help the beleaguered firefighters in the West. Washington State’s firefighters are stretched to the limit, and on Friday the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) opened centers in Omak and Colville to coordinate offers of help from trained, qualified volunteer firefighters and from people who have and can operate machinery like backhoes and bulldozers to dig fire lines.
Wildfire beyond the hilltop // Source: commons.wikimedia.com
Wildfires have been ravaging large parcels of land in the West and there seems to be no end in sight for the weary Westerners.
In Washington State last Wednesday, three firefighters were killed and four others injured battling a fire that began near the towns of Twisp and Winthrop. The tragedy occurred when the winds shifted unexpectedly. This was just one of the more than 100 fires burning in the state and 390,000 acres affected to date. No imminent relief is expected, as the National Weather Service projected stronger winds and extreme fire danger through the weekend.
Washington State officials said yesterday (Sunday) that more than 3,000 people called and e-mailed in response to the state’s request for volunteer help with wildfires.
Q13 Fox reports that the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on Friday opened centers in Omak and Colville to coordinate offers of help from trained, qualified volunteer firefighters and from people who have and can operate machinery like backhoes and bulldozers to dig fire lines.
DNR spokesman Joe Smillie says the centers are sorting through the names to see what people have to offer. He says most are probably not qualified to help right now, but about 200 equipment operators are expected to get training in deploying emergency fire shelters and other basics on Saturday.
DNR emphasized that deployment to a wildfire will depend on the availability of professional firefighting staff to escort and direct the volunteers.
In Oregon a complex of fires near the community of John Day has already ravaged almost 100 miles in the Malheur National Forest. It began on 12 August with a lightning strike and strong winds pushed it up a canyon in a run that ruined more than thirty-six homes. Warnings about winds that could rapidly spread flames remained in effect through Friday.
NASA says that in California, more than 12,000 firefighters are battling at least seventeen wildfires in the Golden State including a fire that has already been burning for nearly three weeks near Kings Canyon National Park. It has grown to sixty square miles and is bearing down on Hume Lake. The command post for the fire had to evacuate to a ranger station in Sequoia National Forest due to the rate and direction that the fire was moving.
These are just three of the hundreds of individual fires blazing across at least 1.1 million acres in the West. Both the military and foreign firefighting crews have been called in to help the beleaguered firefighters in the West.
InciWeb, the interagency all-risk incident information management system that coordinates with federal, state and local agencies to manage wildfires is providing updates on all fires. For updates, visit the Inciweb Web site at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov.
