Delaware News


Delaware wildfire crew battling set of Idaho fires more than 32,000 acres in size.

Department of Agriculture | Forest Service | News | Date Posted: Thursday, August 9, 2012



Contact: John Petersen, 302-698-4552
Email:  john.petersen@delaware.gov

Delaware crew battling set of Idaho fires estimated at more than 32,000 acres.

DOVER (Aug. 9, 2012) – With 56 large uncontained wildfires now raging nationwide, the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho has just raised its National Fire Preparedness Level to 4 on a 5-point scale (http://www.nifc.gov).

The Delaware Forest Service dispatched a team of 20 volunteers on August 6 that is now assigned to an incident known as the Minidoka Complex, a grouping of three previously separate fires located 15 miles southeast of Twin Falls, Idaho that is estimated to be more than 32,353 acres in size with only 10 percent containment. At least 255 personnel are working on the incident which includes the previously reported Cave Canyon and Deer Hollow fires. The fires are burning through fuels that include pine, juniper, brush and grass, and evacuations are currently in effect. So far, no structures have been lost, thanks to the tireless efforts of Delaware’s crew members.

Henry Poole of Townsend, the Delaware Forest Service’s Assistant Forestry Administrator who is a member of the current crew, recounted how they used a backfire to protect houses in the area to which they were assigned. “They were concerned that there were some residences and some structures nearby that were going to get burned. So we burned off of the dozer line and redirected the fire away from the homes,” Poole said. “Our crew was responsible basically for saving four homes.”

Watch a video clip of Brian Ward on the fireline in Idaho

Photo: Delaware wildland firefighter Brian Ward of Houston uses a drip torch to light a backfire as a strategy to consume fuel sources ahead of an advancing wildfire. Ward is one of 20 Delaware volunteers serving a two-week assignment battling wildfires in the region 15 miles southeast of Twin Falls, Idaho.

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Delaware wildfire crew battling set of Idaho fires more than 32,000 acres in size.

Department of Agriculture | Forest Service | News | Date Posted: Thursday, August 9, 2012



Contact: John Petersen, 302-698-4552
Email:  john.petersen@delaware.gov

Delaware crew battling set of Idaho fires estimated at more than 32,000 acres.

DOVER (Aug. 9, 2012) – With 56 large uncontained wildfires now raging nationwide, the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho has just raised its National Fire Preparedness Level to 4 on a 5-point scale (http://www.nifc.gov).

The Delaware Forest Service dispatched a team of 20 volunteers on August 6 that is now assigned to an incident known as the Minidoka Complex, a grouping of three previously separate fires located 15 miles southeast of Twin Falls, Idaho that is estimated to be more than 32,353 acres in size with only 10 percent containment. At least 255 personnel are working on the incident which includes the previously reported Cave Canyon and Deer Hollow fires. The fires are burning through fuels that include pine, juniper, brush and grass, and evacuations are currently in effect. So far, no structures have been lost, thanks to the tireless efforts of Delaware’s crew members.

Henry Poole of Townsend, the Delaware Forest Service’s Assistant Forestry Administrator who is a member of the current crew, recounted how they used a backfire to protect houses in the area to which they were assigned. “They were concerned that there were some residences and some structures nearby that were going to get burned. So we burned off of the dozer line and redirected the fire away from the homes,” Poole said. “Our crew was responsible basically for saving four homes.”

Watch a video clip of Brian Ward on the fireline in Idaho

Photo: Delaware wildland firefighter Brian Ward of Houston uses a drip torch to light a backfire as a strategy to consume fuel sources ahead of an advancing wildfire. Ward is one of 20 Delaware volunteers serving a two-week assignment battling wildfires in the region 15 miles southeast of Twin Falls, Idaho.

###

image_printPrint


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.