The New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) continues to provide crews and engines to the western United States to help fight wildfires. I am very proud of all the NJFFS crews and engines, you are doing good work under tough conditions. You are sacrificing time with your family and friends because what you do is fight fires and you help where you are needed. Here are two reports highlighting the NJFFS crews work out west. The first is by Josh Axelrod reporting for New Jersey Advance Media on September 4th, with a paywall. Unfortunately, you may not be able to read the article, but just in case try going here to see if you can view the article, apologies if you can not access the article. I felt it important to acknowledge good local reporting on the NJFFS deployment. Axelrod reports that "over the last six weeks 51 New Jersey Firefighters have been sent to western States, with nine currently in California." NJFFS Chief Greg Mclaughlin talks about the deployment with Axelrod of New Jersey Advance Media:
“Something’s changing,” McLaughlin said. “Why it’s changing, how it’s changing, is still uncertain or unclear. It’s the extremes that’s happening that are really causing an unpredictability.”
In response to another year of volatile forest fires, NJFFS has sent three modules, or 10-person crews, to Wyoming, four engines to California, an engine to Nevada, an engine and resource specialists to Colorado and two helicopter managers to Montana.
Two to three crew members man each engine that drive across the country to their assignment. When crews arrive, they typically camp out, though occasionally they stay in hotels.
“There’s great eagerness to go and help out,” McLaughlin said. “It’s what they’re trained to do and it’s what their career is. It can be stressful, and it’s a sacrifice, because in the summer, school’s off, your kids are home, and you’re agreeing to leave for two weeks, to leave your family and commit to this. So it’s a big sacrifice, but there’s an eagerness and a high level of commitment to wanting to do it.”
The second report, from 6ABC in Philadelphia is freely available. I am not sure how long the link will be active so if you are arriving here some time after the date of this article, and the links are broken, you will know why. The September 10th report from 6ABC with a video may be found here, and I am embedding the video at the end of this article.
Here is an excerpt from the 6ABC report:
Yesterday, the winds were probably 15 to 20 mph all day," said Larry Birch.
Birch is part of a team from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service who are aiding those in California.
A total of 60 fires continue to scorch three states Wednesday night, including California, Washington and Oregon.
Firefighters are attacking the flames from the ground and the air, 14,000 people are on the frontlines just in California.
"(It's) very hot, we were caught in 100 degree days," said Birch.
The winds have produced everything from mushroom cloud-like plumes of smoke to vortexes that can make it almost impossible for firefighters to contain.
"I mean it was just chasing spot fires after spot fires, we have to hold the line," said Birch.
