PHOTO: From left, Dave Pro of Newark, Jeff Wilson of Clayton, Eddie Boyer of Frederica, and Bradley Melson of Milford are part of the Delaware wildfire crew battling the Harris Mountain Fire south of Cascade, Montana.

CASCADE, Mont. (August 4, 2021) — Delaware’s wildfire crew continues to battle the Harris Mountain Fire in the steep, rocky and mountainous terrain south of Cascade, Montana. The 31,345-acre blaze is currently 20 percent contained, with almost 300 personnel under a Type 2 Incident Management Team from the Northern Rockies to bring it under control

According to crew boss Sam Topper, Delaware’s 20-person Type 2IA crew has been constructing hotline on a critical piece of Division Z and has been working to keep the fire out of the head of Novak Creek. The crew has only four more shifts remaining before returning to the First State next week. The group departed Blackbird State Forest on July 21 and is serving a 14-day assignment.

Delaware also has a new Type 6 engine crew fighting the Cedar Creek Fire, currently 52,030 acres and 25% percent contained, located in Washington’s Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.  The team of three firefighters is led by the Delaware Forest Service’s Todd Gsell and includes Todd Shaffer of Maryland and Andy Ney of Felton.

More photos at the Delaware Forest Service Flickr page

Contact: Kyle Hoyd, Delaware Forest Service, 302-698-4548 or kyle.hoyd@delaware.gov

CASCADE, Mont. (July 27, 2021) — Delaware’s “Diamond State” Type 2IA crew is part of more than 200 personnel fighting the Harris Mountain Fire in Cascade County, Montana. Located in difficult and rugged terrain, the blaze was started by lightning on July 23 and is currently 19,103 acres in size. Managed by a Type 2 Incident Management Team (IMT), the fire is expanding in all directions and burning actively in deep drainages. Multiple crews, engines, dozers, water tenders and air resources are providing structure protection.

The team from the First State is led by the Delaware Forest Service’s Sam Topper and consists of 20 volunteer firefighters from the public and private sector. The group departed Blackbird State Forest on July 21 and will serve a 14-day assignment before returning to Delaware.

Delaware also has a Type 6 engine crew fighting the Cedar Creek Fire, currently 33,462 acres in size and 13 percent contained, located in Washington’s Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.  The team of three firefighters, led by the Delaware Forest Service’s Erich Burkentine, is in the midst of a 21-day assignment. The engine previously served on Southern California’s Dexter Fire.

SMYRNA, Del. (July 21, 2021) — Delaware’s Type 2IA wildfire crew is headed to the Northern Rockies to join the national firefighting effort. The team of 20 firefighters departed Blackbird State Forest and is traveling by ground transportation to Montana for an eventual assignment in that region. This is the crew’s first assignment of 2021. Last year, Delaware sent a 20-person crew to fight blazes in Arizona and California. Delaware’s team is a mix of veterans and rookies, drawn from both public agencies and the private sector, who completed their certification by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group.

The National Interagency Fire Center raised its National Fire Preparedness Level to 5—its highest level—due to a large increase in wildfire activity fueled by prolonged heat and drought across the West. The Northern Rockies geographic area (which includes Idaho and Montana) is the most active region and also at PL 5. More than 4,250 personnel are currently assigned to fight fires in the Northern Rockies region. There were 102 aircraft, 88 fire crews, and 377 engines, and a total of 3,980 personnel as of 7/21.

After four days of travel, the crew will complete a planned 14-day assignment before returning to the First State.

BISHOP, Calif. (July 16, 2021) — Delaware’s three-person Type 6 engine crew is now fighting the 2,000-acre Dexter Fire in the Inyo National Forest of southern California. Reported on July 12, the lightning-caused blaze is actively burning in brush and timber with only 13 percent containment. A total of 308 personnel are currently working under the command of a Type 2 incident management team (IMT) and the Dexter Fire has forced the evacuation of Big Springs and Bald Mountain Springs Campgrounds as well as the closure of area roads and highways.

Leading the crew is the Delaware Forest Service’s southern regional forester and engine boss Erich Burkentine of Milton, along with engine boss trainee Nikki Testa of Newark, and firefighter Hunter Melson of Milford. The crew mobilized on July 13 and is scheduled for a 21-day assignment, replacing a crew composed of Sam Topper, Adam Keever, and Bradley Melson that completed a 14-day tour of duty that took them from Colorado to California. Delaware’s crew is facing high temperatures, low relative humidity, and gusty afternoon winds on the Dexter Fire as they are conducting initial attack, digging fire line, and felling trees.

An increasing number of large wildfires in the western United States—combined with a prolonged heat wave and persistent drought—led the National Interagency Fire Center to increase its National Preparedness Level to the maximum level of “5” on July 14. Currently, 70 active large fires have consumed 1,061,516 acres across the United States. More than 17,700 wildland firefighters and support personnel and 32 Type 1 and Type 2 incident management teams are assigned to wildfires. So far in 2021, a total of 34,596 fires have burned 2.36 million acres—an increase from the same time in 2020, when 28,423 fires had burned 1.78 million acres.

More photos at the Delaware Forest Service Facebook Page

Contact:

Kyle Hoyd, Delaware Forest Service
Email: kyle.hoyd@delaware.gov
302-698-4548

RANGELY, Colo. (June 28, 2021) — Delaware’s Type 6 engine and its three-man crew are part of 313 personnel currently fighting the Oil Springs Fire, located 20 miles south of Rangely, Colorado. The fire was started by lightning on June 18 and has grown to 12,613 acres with only 18 percent containment. Delaware’s crew is working on one of the fire’s priority areas, Division D, which involves the continued protection of the Dragon Trail Compressor Site. The fire is spreading moderately in a mixture of  pinyon, juniper and sagebrush.

Delaware’s crew is comprised of engine boss Samual Topper of Maryland, engine boss trainee Adam Keever of Newark, and FFT2 Bradley Melson of Milford. The crew mobilized from Blackbird State Forest last week and started work on Saturday, June 26. The National Preparedness Level was increased to 4 on a 5-point scale on June 22. Currently there are 37 uncontained large fires and a total of 50 large fires have burned 667,397 acres. To date, 30,219 wildfires have burned 1,389,087 acres across the United States.

Delaware’s crew is comprised of engine boss Samual Topper of Maryland, engine boss trainee Adam Keever of Newark, and FFT2 Bradley Melson of Milford. The crew mobilized from Blackbird State Forest last week and started work on Saturday, June 26.

Fore more information, contact Kyle Hoyd, office: (302) 698-4548 or email: kyle.hoyd@delaware.gov