After three firefighters in Washington were lost this week, thirteen firefighters this fire year have lost their lives working to save the rest of us and our homes and property.
It is heartbreaking.
The men and women who work wildfires are beyond heroic. It is a calling that requires a unique set of physical and emotional capabilities beyond what I can imagine.
I am heartbroken for the lives of the lost and their families.
Conditions, currently are horrible: scary, SCARY, dry ground and fuel along with heat, low humidity and wind.
Smoke: I have no breathing issues, but the amount of smoke has me wheezing and sneezing so I have to wonder about those that DO have issues.
My prayers go out for the West: first for the firefighters and all of their support, for those who have health issues, for the wildlife and the pets and livestock, for those who DO have breathing issues, for those who have to make decisions… for the West.
Almost 30,000 firefighters from all over the country are battling about 100 wildfires that have broken out across the West. The flames have torched more than 1 million acres of land.
So many firefighters are needed that more are flying in all the way from New Zealand and Australia this weekend, authorities told NBC News.
Final details were still being worked out, but the contingent from Australia and New Zealand was expected to arrive in Boise, Idaho, on Sunday. Boise is the headquarters of the Western regional headquarters of the Forest Service’s National Interagency Fire Center.
Mike Ferris, a spokesman for the fire center, told NBC News that the fire personnel — whom he described as fire managers, not front-line firefighters — will undergo two days of training on U.S. firefighting procedures next week before being deployed as needed.
“We currently remain at National Preparedness Level 5 [the highest level], our resources are fully committed and there are no season-ending weather events in the foreseeable forecast,” said Aitor Bidaburu, head of the National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group, which manages cooperation among fire operations from the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service and other federal agencies.
The above says “100 wildfires that have broken out across the West”. I think that number is understated.
Whatever, my utmost prayer is that no more lives be lost. The stuff, the houses, the buildings…inconsequential and replaceable. It is the Fathers, Mothers, Sons, Daughters, the Animals – THEY are the important things…
