PA-PAS #5

PA-PAS #5 returned home Thursday (8/23/2018) evening and were released to their districts.

PA-PAS #6 and PA-PAS #7 are the wildland fire crews we currently have assigned to assist other states.

Check back for more updates.

PA-PAS #7

We have dispatched another crew to assist in wildfires out west. PA-PAS #7 will be assisting in Oregon. They left early this morning on a few commercial flights out of Harrisburg International Airport.

Check back for more updates!

Crew and Engine Updates

Good morning everyone!

Just a quick update regarding our crews and engines assigned to fires in the west.

PAS#5 is scheduled to return on Thursday.  

PAS#6 is assigned to the Goldstone Fire near Dillon, Montana.

Engine 603 returned to Pennsylvania yesterday.  

Engine 601 is still in California and is prepositioned for initial attack on the Inyo National Forest. 

Engine 602 has demobilized from Texas and was sent to the Watson Creek Fire in Paisley, OR.

There is still a Planning Level 5 nationally. There are 37 Type 1, 2, and NIMO teams managing large fires. There are 54 uncontained large fires with just over 26,000 firefighters on assignment.  

Check back for more updates!

PA-PAS Crew #6

Pennsylvania has provided another crew to assist with wildfires occurring in the Northern Rockies. PA-PAS Crew #6 left from Penn Nursery yesterday (8/15/18) to travel to New Hampshire for a flight to their destination departing today (8/16/18). 

Check back for more updates!

PA-PAS Crew #4 Update

The members of PA-PAS Crew #4 returned last evening (8/13/2018) on commercial flights into Harrisburg International. They were released to their homes shortly after checking in with the demobilization.

Keep checking back for more updates!

PA-PAS Crew #4 Update and Photo

We received an update from PA-PAS 4 and a photo to share as well.

After being released from the Middle Canyon fire near Tooele, UT, PA-PAS 4 was dispatched to the Cedar Mountain fire on Friday (8/3/2018), then on Sunday (8/5/2018) reassigned to the Hansel Point fire, north of Salt Lake. Following their arrival, they were immediately sent to the field, and assisted with a large burnout operation until well into the night shift.

PA-PAS Crew #3 Update

PA-PAS Crew #3 arrived early in the evening on Tuesday (8/7/2018). After a long flight they stayed in a hotel near the Harrisburg International Airport. A BBQ buffet was provided for them including pulled pork and chicken, macaroni and cheese, baked beans and corn bread. They were released back to their districts the next morning (8/8/2018).

PA-PAS #3 and a crew from Ohio had departed a NICC Jet and are unloading their gear from the jet.

PA-PAS #3 working together to get all the gear off the plane.

Engine Updates

Engine 603, currently assigned to initial attack in Texas, had a crew swap this past weekend. The fresh crew will continue with the same assignment – suppressing new fires in the Fredericksburg area. The first crew flew home yesterday (8/6/2018).

Engine 601 is in the area of Mammoth Lake in California on similar orders. They are one week into their assignment. We are awaiting word as to whether or not California will request a crew swap.

Engine 602 leaves early Wednesday (8/8/2018) morning to join 603 in Texas. The engine crew will join the hand crew (PA-PAS #3) tonight in Harrisburg, and leave from there in the morning(8/8/2018).

PA-PAS #5 Update - Copper Mountain Fire

We recently received an update from PA-PAS #5:

They spent Sunday night (8/5/2018) in Missoula, MT and headed for the Idaho panhandle yesterday (8/6/2018) morning.They are currently checked-in to the Copper Mountain Fire. This fire is roughly 150 acres along the Canadian border in the Kootenai National Forest. The average size of a large fire in this area is 10 acres. A Canadian hotshot crew is working their side of the border where the fire has spotted over, while the Lewis and Clark Hotshots are working the US side. Our crew and DES #2 will be joining the hotshots due to the weather forecast - indicating unusually high temperatures for the next 3 days, followed by high winds.

There is very poor communication in the area, along with travel through a slew of roads through rough country. The crew is looking at a lot of saw work as well. The crew boss seems very optimistic about this assignment.

PA-PAS Crew #5

Pennsylvania has provided another crew to assist in wildfires: PA-PAS Crew #5. The crew left Sunday (8/5/2018) from Harrisburg. 

Check back for more updates!