N.C. Forest Service sends crews, fire engines to assist with wildfires in Western U.S.


RALEIGH – More than 70 N.C. Forest Service personnel are currently helping fight fires in the Western United States. And for the first time in its 100-year history, the agency sent fire engines out West, too.

The three engines are former military trucks that have been converted into fire trucks capable of carrying 600 to 800 gallons of water. Two of the trucks are going to Idaho, and the third is going to Oregon. The trucks, which left last weekend, are being hauled on tractor-trailers.

In the past, the N.C. Forest Service has sent fire engines to other Southern states under a mutual aid agreement. But the agency had never sent equipment to the West.

 “So far this year, about 180 N.C. Forest Service employees have been dispatched to the West,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “We are proud of the men and women who have committed themselves to helping states that are facing significant fire threats. The work they are doing will come back to us in the form of assistance when we need it.”

N.C. Forest Service personnel currently are helping Western states by fighting fires or working in the command structure. The federal government is covering the cost of these dispatches.

To learn more about the fires burning out West, log onto http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/.