Update on Delaware Forest Service wildfire crew in California

The Delaware Forest Service’s Samual Topper patrols the fire line on the Peak Fire south of Hayfork, California. The 706-acre blaze is one of dozens of wildfires started by lightning from July 29 to 31 that are part of the 11,862-acre Fork Complex. A team of Delaware firefighters is working alongside 1,165 personnel on the incident.

HAYFORK, Calif. (Aug. 6, 2015) — A team of 20 wildland firefighters under the direction of the Delaware Forest Service is working with 1,165 personnel currently battling the Fork Complex, a group of lightning-caused fires near Hayfork, California that totals 11,862 acres but is only 7 percent contained. Fire resources on the Fork Complex include 26 crews, 4 helicopters, 128 engines, 30 dozers, and 30 water tenders with road closures and evacuations in effect for the area. California officials declared a state of emergency late last week due to the widespread wildfires that have burned upwards of 190,000 acres.

For the past two days, Delaware’s crew has been working on the Peak Fire, a 706-acre blaze burning on Plummer Peak, south of the town near Highway 3. According to fire officials, Delaware’s job is to “Establish indirect control lines” and “Hold and patrol established lines.”

Kyle Hoyd, the Delaware Forest Service’s assistant forestry administrator, summarized the crew’s effort: “We did a burnout with two engine teams on the Peak Fire off of a dozer line and put hand line around several structures in the same area.” Earlier in the week, Hoyd reported that “everyone is doing well” but the “fire is in steep terrain with multiple hazards.”

The crew’s hard work and effort has been paying off. According to the U.S. Forest Service, “The Peak fire was active throughout the day with continued burning to the west; crews remained in place protecting structures (homes, residences, and out buildings). Significant progress was made with a dozer line completion on the northwest division of the fire, east of Highway 3.”

Crews might not get relief from the weather forecast. Officials say that “Warm and dry conditions will continue through the end of the week and as the smoke inversion begins to clear; this presents the possibility of more direct heat in and around the fire areas as well as more intense burning.”

The Delaware Forest Service also dispatched James Dowd from Blackbird State Forest to work as an equipment manager on the Mad River Complex, along with Michael Nelson of Pennsylvania, who is assigned to the Reynolds Fire in Montana.

Fork Complex DES1 (1) — Scott Veasey of Millsboro and Todd Gsell of Townsend are part of a 20-person wildfire crew from Delaware that is battling the 11,862-acre Fork Complex Fire near Hayfork, California. Here they are working along a fire line created by a bulldozer used to contain the blaze.

Fork Complex DES1 (2) — Delaware’s widland fire crew is holding and patrolling a fireline near Plummer Peak south of Hayfork, California. The team is part of 1,165 personnel battling the 11,862-acre Fork Complex, a group of lightning-caused wildfires that ignited in the area from July 29 to 31. Hot weather and prolonged drought have helped fuel the blazes. California declared a state of emergency late last week.

Fork Complex_Aug 5 (3) — Starting second from left: Doug Rawling of Newark, Nicholas and Christopher Sturm of Hamburg, PA, and Jennifer DeCarlo of Felton construct a hand line as part of firefighting efforts on the Fork Complex, an 11,862-acre group of lightning-caused fires burning near Hayfork, California.