Delaware News

Delaware Wildfire Crew Wraps Up Successful Assignment

Department of Agriculture | Forest Service | News | Date Posted: Thursday, September 17, 2020


Delaware wildfire crew in Arizona
Delaware’s wildfire crew visited the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial Park in Yarnell, AZ. The site commemorates the 19 firefighters lost in the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire and featured in the 2017 film, “Only the Brave.”   Front Row: (from left) Edward Boyer of Ellendale, Sam Topper of Maryland, Connor Terry of Virginia, David Pro of Newark, Mark Kammer of Magnolia, and Todd Shaffer of Maryland. Back Row: (from left) Mark Lasocha of Dover, Scott Veasey of Millsboro, Bart Wilson of Wilmington, Brian Jennings of Harrington, Adam Keever of Newark, Christopher Valenti of Dover, James Charney of Felton, Michael Valenti of Dover, Robert Young of Townsend, Bradley Melson of Milford, Nathan Shampine of Hockessin, Zachary Brown of Harbeson, William Seybold of Dover, Hunter Melson of Milford, and Erich Burkentine of Milton.

 
SMYRNA, Del. (Sept. 17, 2020) — Delaware’s wildfire crew is returning to the First State after successfully battling blazes on a 14-day assignment in Arizona and California. Delaware’s 21-person team mobilized at Blackbird State Forest in Smyrna on August 28. On August 30 they were assigned to the Griffin Fire, a 61,821-acre blaze in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest in the U.S. Forest Service’s Southwest Region. They subsequently took on the Rockhouse Fire, a 19,506-acre blaze located on land managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ San Carlos Agency, 22 miles southeast of San Carlos, AZ.

Adam Keever of Newark is a veteran of the Delaware wildfire crew and is shown here with his chainsaw next to a giant cactus on the Rockhouse Fire in Arizona..

On September 9, they were transferred to the Southern California Geographic Area and assigned to the Valley Fire, which consumed 17,665 acres in the Cleveland National Forest, 19 miles northeast of Chula Vista, CA. Less than 40 percent contained when Delaware’s crew arrived, the Valley Fire is now over 90 percent contained and many evacuation orders and restrictions have been lifted. As a Type 2 Initial Attack crew (T2-IA), Delaware’s crew worked on Division Alpha, going direct on the fire line and cold trailing along its edge. The steep and rugged terrain was challenging and required the crew to be transported by helicopter to their division, as shown in the video below (click here for file download link). The crew is expected to arrive back at Blackbird State Forest in Smyrna by Friday afternoon, September 18.

Contact: Kyle Hoyd, Assistant State Forester, (302) 698-4548 or (302) 943-7869 (cell) or email: kyle.hoyd@delaware.gov.

Watch this video from Delaware’s wildfire crew on California’s Valley Fire:

 

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Delaware Wildfire Crew Wraps Up Successful Assignment

Department of Agriculture | Forest Service | News | Date Posted: Thursday, September 17, 2020


Delaware wildfire crew in Arizona
Delaware’s wildfire crew visited the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial Park in Yarnell, AZ. The site commemorates the 19 firefighters lost in the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire and featured in the 2017 film, “Only the Brave.”   Front Row: (from left) Edward Boyer of Ellendale, Sam Topper of Maryland, Connor Terry of Virginia, David Pro of Newark, Mark Kammer of Magnolia, and Todd Shaffer of Maryland. Back Row: (from left) Mark Lasocha of Dover, Scott Veasey of Millsboro, Bart Wilson of Wilmington, Brian Jennings of Harrington, Adam Keever of Newark, Christopher Valenti of Dover, James Charney of Felton, Michael Valenti of Dover, Robert Young of Townsend, Bradley Melson of Milford, Nathan Shampine of Hockessin, Zachary Brown of Harbeson, William Seybold of Dover, Hunter Melson of Milford, and Erich Burkentine of Milton.

 
SMYRNA, Del. (Sept. 17, 2020) — Delaware’s wildfire crew is returning to the First State after successfully battling blazes on a 14-day assignment in Arizona and California. Delaware’s 21-person team mobilized at Blackbird State Forest in Smyrna on August 28. On August 30 they were assigned to the Griffin Fire, a 61,821-acre blaze in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest in the U.S. Forest Service’s Southwest Region. They subsequently took on the Rockhouse Fire, a 19,506-acre blaze located on land managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ San Carlos Agency, 22 miles southeast of San Carlos, AZ.

Adam Keever of Newark is a veteran of the Delaware wildfire crew and is shown here with his chainsaw next to a giant cactus on the Rockhouse Fire in Arizona..

On September 9, they were transferred to the Southern California Geographic Area and assigned to the Valley Fire, which consumed 17,665 acres in the Cleveland National Forest, 19 miles northeast of Chula Vista, CA. Less than 40 percent contained when Delaware’s crew arrived, the Valley Fire is now over 90 percent contained and many evacuation orders and restrictions have been lifted. As a Type 2 Initial Attack crew (T2-IA), Delaware’s crew worked on Division Alpha, going direct on the fire line and cold trailing along its edge. The steep and rugged terrain was challenging and required the crew to be transported by helicopter to their division, as shown in the video below (click here for file download link). The crew is expected to arrive back at Blackbird State Forest in Smyrna by Friday afternoon, September 18.

Contact: Kyle Hoyd, Assistant State Forester, (302) 698-4548 or (302) 943-7869 (cell) or email: kyle.hoyd@delaware.gov.

Watch this video from Delaware’s wildfire crew on California’s Valley Fire:

 

image_printPrint

Related Topics:  , , ,


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.