SMYRNA, Del. (August 9, 2022) –The Delaware Forest Service mobilized a 19-person wildfire crew from Blackbird State Forest to northern California today. The crew will travel cross-country to join other wildfire crews to battle blazes as the number of wildfires in the area continue to grow, sparked by hot, dry, and windy weather combined with an unstable atmosphere, creating lightning-caused fires.
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, 66 large fires and complexes have burned 1,694,298 acres in 14 states. More than 12,300 wildland firefighters and support personnel are currently assigned to incidents across the country.
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. https://de.gov/wildfire.
For more information, contact Kyle Hoyd at kyle.hoyd@delaware.gov
More photos and videos are available at: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjA2pY6