“But I do have to say that we feel we are really well-prepared”.
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Large wildfires are now blazing across 10 US states, with active fires burning some 1.3 million acres (526,000 hectares).
“We are very appreciative of the Australian and New Zealand firefighters for their availability to assist us with our current fire situation”, said Aitor Bidaburu, chair of NMAC.
The most badly hurt of the surviving firefighters remained in critical condition on Saturday at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, a day after undergoing surgery to treat his burns, Susan Gregg, a spokeswoman for the hospital, said in an email.
The National Interagency Fire Center said Australia and New Zealand have been key partners with the U.S. fire community for more than 50 years but were last mobilized in 2008 when severe fire activity was similar to this year.
“Our firefighters are a mixture of people who have been there before and new people, so it will be challenging for them but we are confident they will be well-enough trained to deal with those challenges”.
Three South Australian firefighters are among 71 from across Australia heading to the United States to help battle wildfires raging across several states in the country’s west.
In west-central Idaho, fire managers say expected winds on Friday aligning with topography could cause an 11-square-mile wildfire to grow significantly despite fire lines built by some 460 firefighters. After a one-day orientation to learn about current fire behavior they will be assigned to large fires.
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“Their logistics skills will be in high demand, especially managing aircraft to fight fires and ferry supplies to remote locations”, Kevin O’Connor of New Zealand’s National Rural Fire Authority said in a statement. They will offer blue card classes to equipment operators. A common phrase seen on many posts regarding evacuations is “Do not wait for door-to-door notification”.
