Contact: John Petersen, Delaware Forest Service Community Relations Officer
john.petersen@delaware.gov
(302) 233-8180 – cell
Click here for photo album from DES#2 – Fire crew mobilization at Blackbird State Forest on Sunday, August 11.
Back row (from left) are: Samual L. Topper of Federalsburg, MD; Monica Testa of Wilmington; Michael Krumrine of Magnolia; Scott A. Veasey of Millsboro; Guy W. Cooper of Millville; Tyler S. Torres of Smyrna; Jonathan E. Stave of Newark; Brian K. Ward Jeffrey A. Wilson of Clayton; Todd W. Shaffer of Atglen, PA; Front row (from left) Luke S. Terrell of Salisbury, MD; Kyle M. Kokoszka of Middletown; Todd Gsell of Townsend; William K. Ruark of Towson, MD; Brian P. Keszler of Middletown; Robert S. Baldwin of Chestertown, MD; Bartholomew D. Wilson of Dover; Matthew Chamberlain of Newark; Michael D. Hyde of Havre de Grace, MD; Michael A. Valenti of Dover.
In response to increased fire activity in the West, the Delaware Forest Service is sending a 20-person crew of wildland firefighters to Utah. The crew will be “pre-positioned” there before its likely assignment to a fire in the Eastern Great Basin region. This is the second crew that Delaware has dispatched this summer – the first team was sent to battle an 85,000-acre blaze near North Pole, Alaska in July.
The 20-person team departed at approximately 3 p.m. on Sunday, August 11, from Blackbird State Forest, 502 Blackbird Forest Road, Smyrna, DE, 19977. They will be boarding a flight to Salt Lake City, Utah from Harrisburg, PA on the morning of Monday, August 12.
The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise Idaho (http://www.nifc.gov) has increased its National Preparedness Level to 4 on a 5-point scale, in response to the fact that “36 wildfires are burning in eight western states and Alaska and nine new large fires have been reported in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming.”
Wildfire Crew Members and Hometowns:
*Crew Boss
| Samual L. Topper* | Federalsburg, MD |
| Monica Testa | Wilmington |
| Michael Krumrine | Magnolia |
| Scott A. Veasey | Millsboro |
| Guy W. Cooper | Millville |
| Tyler S. Torres | Smyrna |
| Jonathan E. Stave | Newark |
| Brian K. Ward | Houston |
| Jeffrey A. Wilson | Clayton |
| Todd W. Shaffer | Atglen, PA |
| Luke Spencer Terrell | Salisbury, MD |
| Kyle M. Kokoszka | Middletown |
| Todd Gsell | Townsend |
| William Keegan Ruark | Towson, MD |
| Brian P. Keszler | Middletown |
| Robert S. Baldwin | Chestertown, MD |
| Bartholomew D. Wilson | Dover |
| Matthew Chamberlain | Newark |
| Michael Davis Hyde | Havre de Grace, MD |
| Michael A. Valenti | Dover |
A Preparedness Level IV is triggered under the following conditions:
- Three or more Geographic Areas are experiencing incidents requiring Type 1 and 2 IMTs.
- Competition exists between Geographic Areas.
- Nationally, 60 percent of Type 1 and 2 IMTs and crews are committed.
###