Kentucky firefighters head west to fight California fires


WINCHESTER, KY, August 5, 2009 – Firefighters from Kentucky are headed to northern California to fight wildfires. Two 20-person crews were ordered through the dispatch office of the Kentucky Interagency Coordination Center of the Daniel Boone National Forest. Several large fires are currently burning in northern California, as well as other areas throughout the Northwest.

On Wednesday, the firefighters assembled at the Southern Interagency Fire Cache in London, Ky. From this location, the crews headed by bus to Ashville where they departed by flight to Redding, California. Each crew will be assigned to a fire upon their arrival.

Both crews consist of firefighters from several state and federal agencies in Kentucky, including Forest Service, Kentucky Division of Forestry, National Park Service and civilian employees from Fort Campbell.
For more national fire information, see www.nifc.gov/nicc/sitreprt.pdf. The Kentucky Interagency Coordination Center website can be found at www.fs.fed.us/r8/boonefire/.