Front Row: Edward Boyer of Ellendale, David Pro of Newark, Todd Shaffer of Maryland, Zachary Brown of Harbeson, Sam Topper of Maryland, and Adam Keever of Newark. Second Row: Erich Burkentine of Milton, Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) Secretary Michael T. Scuse, Michael Valenti of Dover, Brian Jennings of Harrington, Connor Terry of Virginia, Christopher Valenti of Dover, Robert Young of Townsend, William Seybold of Dover, Nathan Shampine of Hockessin, Bart Wilson of Wilmington, and Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long. Back Row: Mark Kammer of Magnolia, James Charney of Felton, Hunter Melson of Milford, Scott Veasey of Millsboro, Mark Lasocha of Dover, and Bradley Melson of Milford.
DOVER, Del. – The Delaware Forest Service is sending its wildfire crew to New Mexico as a steep increase in lightning-caused fires has pushed the National Preparedness Level to 5 on a 5-point scale, its highest level. Critical fire weather continues throughout the West. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the majority of the fire activity remains in Arizona and California, where over 1.5 million acres have burned. So far this year, more than 38,767 fires have burned 3.7 million acres.
Delaware has trained more than 600 firefighters since 1996 and battled wildfires in numerous states, including: Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, California, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, and Washington. http://de.gov/wildfire
For more information, contact Kyle Hoyd at kyle.hoyd@delaware.gov.
More photos at: https://www.facebook.com/delforestservice