A 20-person crew of wildland firefighters from the Virginia Department of Forestry is on its way to Salt Lake City, Utah, to help suppress wildfires burning in the western United States. The 18 men and two women will arrive in Salt Lake City tonight or tomorrow morning and be dispatched to one of the many wildfires burning in the region.
The crew will be out West for at least 14 days.
“Armed with several types of hand tools (Pulaskis, rakes and shovels), the crew will hike into and out of the mountainous area to protect the lives and property of their fellow Americans by battling fires in difficult and dangerous conditions,” said VDOF’s Director of Resource Protection John Miller. “The West’s terrain, high winds and low humidity make it especially dangerous for wildland firefighters, but these dedicated professionals are well trained and prepared for the challenges they’ll face.”
The Virginia Department of Forestry protects and develops healthy, sustainable forest resources for Virginians. Headquartered in Charlottesville, the Agency has forestry staff members assigned to every county to provide citizen service and public safety protection across the Commonwealth. VDOF is an equal opportunity provider. With nearly 16 million acres of forestland and more than 144,000 Virginians employed in forestry, forest products and related industries, Virginia forests provide more than $27.5 Billion annually in benefits to the Commonwealth.
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