TWISP, Wash. -- The Okanogan County Sheriff's Office confirms three firefighters have died and three to four more have suffered injuries as raging wildfires advance on the towns of Twisp and Winthrop in north-central Washington.
A Spokane Fire Department spokesman confirms the firefighters who died were with the U.S. Forest Service.
Title: Re: RIP firefighters
Post by: Ragwing on August 25, 2015, 04:04:24 PM
The U.S. is in the midst of one of its worst fire seasons on record with some 11,600 square miles scorched so far. It's only the sixth-worst going back to 1960
As the state's wildfires burned into the record books Monday exceeding 400 square miles, calls for help were answered from far and near.
Fire managers from New Zealand and Australia arrived to contribute to a ground campaign led by firefighters from across the West and augmented by U.S. soldiers and for the first time, untrained civilian volunteers from the 4,000 volunteers.
Since 1987, active duty military personnel have been mobilized to serve as wildland firefighters a total of 35 times. The last time was in 2006.
Title: Re: RIP firefighters
Post by: Ragwing on August 25, 2015, 07:07:40 PM
Montana's helicopters sidelined due to bucket size?
Title: Re: RIP firefighters
Post by: Baradium on September 19, 2015, 05:23:45 AM
The forest service seems to love throwing their weight around. Like what they did with the air tankers. The career bureaucrats seem to really enjoy that type of power, especially since they feel nothing can be done about it. I hope the time is approaching for them to get a reality check.
