Wildland Fire Updates

Good morning everyone! We have a few updates for you, including some first-time news. Pull up a chair and a nice beverage and stay a minute as we fill you in.

 

Our first crew, Keystone, returned home Sunday (7/25/2021) around noon, and since they are home we can share with you this wonderful group photo that was taken while they were working on the Delta Lake Fire in the Superior National Forest.

"2-minutes, 20-seconds is all the time Division Supervisor, Steve Cameron had on the Delta Lake Fire to get these amazing crew photos before the air tanker turned around, scooped more water, and flew overhead! Yesterday, afternoon fuel moisture levels dropped and interior pockets of unburned fuel started to torch out, resulting in firefighters being pulled off the line as a safety precaution. Three tankers and two helicopters hit the fire hard to cool things off so crews could get back to the fireline." - U.S. Forest Service - Superior National Forest Facebook post (July 16, 2021).

 

Yesterday (7/26/2021) Independence mobilized at the Red Lion Hotel to get ready to leave this morning (7/27/2021) for Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. While they don't have a specific assignment yet, we expect them to get further reporting instructions en route.

 

Liberty has sent us some photos and updates to share with you.

In the above photos the crew is working on the Black Mountain Fire, 2 of the squads were assigned to replace bridge decking for fire access. The other squad was brushing the road. That day was a red flag day, so everyone was ready for initial attack. Everyone was doing well and they were being treated well. The crew was staying each night in dorms and eating meals at a local University.

In this photo, the crew was at the Black Mountain Fire, Dillon, MT. This was the end-of-shift debrief for July 23, 2021.

And now for something completely different!

The Bureau of Forestry's Type 3 Incident Management Team was requested and mobilized for a fire suppression assignment out of state for the first time. The request came directly from the state of Idaho. There are 11 resources in the team, and they are a mix of DCNR personnel and volunteers from across Pennsylvania. They departed Friday, July 23 for Coeur d'Alene, Idaho with the Command Trailer in tow. Yesterday (7/26/2021) while they were en route, they received instruction to report to the Snake River Complex. The Snake River Complex consists of three wildfires that merged together. The Shovel Creek, Captain John Creek, and Hoover Ridge fires, which were all started by lightning and discovered the morning of July 7, 2021, on the Idaho Department of Lands Craig Mountain Forest Protective District. These fires are in steep terrain and approximately 20-miles south of Lewiston, Idaho just past the Waha area in the Craig Mountains.

The IMT will be managing a Type III incident while on assignment. The knowledge and training that this team has are some of the major things that make this possible; they have experience in their roles from other assignments and they have National Wildfire Coordinating Group standard level training. 

The future for the IMT looks bright; if there is a need and we are able to fill it, we plan to be there to help out.