After two weeks of battling wildfires in the rugged terrain of Idaho,  a Delaware wildfire crew is returning to Blackbird State Forest (502 Blackbird Forest Road, Smyrna, 19977) on September 11 at approximately 8 a.m.

The team was dispatched by the Delaware Forest Service on August 25 at a time when the National Fire Preparedness Level was 4 on a 5-point scale. Over the past 14 days, the team first tackled the 52,972-acre Henry’s Creek Fire, located seven miles east of Idaho Falls.  Thanks to the efforts of Delaware’s crew and other firefighters, the Henry’s Creek Fire reached 100% containment on September 1, 2016. From there, the crew battled the 1260-acre Grape Creek Fire, located six miles southwest of Elba, Idaho. The lightning-caused blaze started on September 1 and was situated in the steep 8500-foot terrain of the Sawtooth National Forest. When the weather permitted, the crew took a helicopter up to the fireline each day.

This is the second crew that Delaware has sent out this summer. The Delaware Forest Service dispatched firefighters to Colorado on July 25. They battled the 492-acre Milk Fire near Craig, Colorado and the 1,287-acre Tokewanna Fire near Mountain View, Wyoming. They finished up on the 12,276-acre Whit Fire, east of Yellowstone National Park near Cody, Wyoming.

Contact: Kyle Hoyd, Delaware Forest Service, (302) 698-4548 (office), (302) 943-7869 (cell) or kyle.hoyd@delaware.gov.

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