USTRANSCOM moves military to assist weary firefighters
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (USTCNS) --- US Transportation Command today moved 540 Army troops and 36 tons of cargo into Boise, Idaho as one of the worst widlfire seasons in 12 years continues to rage across 10 Western states.
The Ft. Hood, Texas soldiers are the latest personnel to join approximately 5,600 federally-financed firefighters battling wildfires that have charred 3.5 million acres.
"This is the worst fire season we've had since 1988," said Michelle Barrett, a spokeswoman at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho. A combination of hot dry conditions over an extensive period has generated the current conditions.
"If we had to write a formula for disaster, this is it," Barrett said. "You could not write a better formula for having dangerous fires."
According to Air Force Colonel Bruce Busler, operations chief at USTRANSCOM's Mobility Control Center, Department of Defense activated 8 C-130s in 4 National Guard and Reserve units to support the firefighting: National Guard units in Channel Island, California; Cheyenne, Wyoming and Charlotte, North Carolina, and an Air Force Reserve unit at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.
Busler said plans are also being made to move 540 Marines from Camp Pendleton, California. Additional firefighting support is being identified since this is only the beginning of the traditional wildfire season in some areas.
The military are being moved in a variety of transportation modes managed by USTRANSCOM, headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Il. When the US military is on the move, USTRANSCOM moves them.
"This is typical of the kinds of transportation support we customarily provide," Busler said. "It's business as usual for us. We're just absorbing this into the rest of our normal operations."
The request for military support was initiated late last week following an announcement that NIFC officials instituted a "Preparedness Level 5," indicating that all federal firefighting resources were fully committed.
The last time NIFC mobilized units was in 1996, when 3 million acres had burned by July 25.
The wildfire season began when a prescribed brush-clearing fire near Los Alamos, N.M. raged out of control and destroyed 200 homes in May.
In addition to the classroom training, the Fort Hood soldiers will also receive two days of hands-on training near the fire locations. All the training will be conducted by the NIFC professional training cadre.
The NIFC spokeswoman said the Fort Hood soldiers will be assigned to the Burgdorf Junction Fire on the Payette National Forest near McCall, Idaho.
(Consolidated reports from Associated Press, US Army Public Affairs and US Forest Service contributed to this article.)
The Ft. Hood, Texas soldiers are the latest personnel to join approximately 5,600 federally-financed firefighters battling wildfires that have charred 3.5 million acres.
"This is the worst fire season we've had since 1988," said Michelle Barrett, a spokeswoman at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho. A combination of hot dry conditions over an extensive period has generated the current conditions.
"If we had to write a formula for disaster, this is it," Barrett said. "You could not write a better formula for having dangerous fires."
According to Air Force Colonel Bruce Busler, operations chief at USTRANSCOM's Mobility Control Center, Department of Defense activated 8 C-130s in 4 National Guard and Reserve units to support the firefighting: National Guard units in Channel Island, California; Cheyenne, Wyoming and Charlotte, North Carolina, and an Air Force Reserve unit at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.
Busler said plans are also being made to move 540 Marines from Camp Pendleton, California. Additional firefighting support is being identified since this is only the beginning of the traditional wildfire season in some areas.
The military are being moved in a variety of transportation modes managed by USTRANSCOM, headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Il. When the US military is on the move, USTRANSCOM moves them.
"This is typical of the kinds of transportation support we customarily provide," Busler said. "It's business as usual for us. We're just absorbing this into the rest of our normal operations."
The request for military support was initiated late last week following an announcement that NIFC officials instituted a "Preparedness Level 5," indicating that all federal firefighting resources were fully committed.
The last time NIFC mobilized units was in 1996, when 3 million acres had burned by July 25.
The wildfire season began when a prescribed brush-clearing fire near Los Alamos, N.M. raged out of control and destroyed 200 homes in May.
In addition to the classroom training, the Fort Hood soldiers will also receive two days of hands-on training near the fire locations. All the training will be conducted by the NIFC professional training cadre.
The NIFC spokeswoman said the Fort Hood soldiers will be assigned to the Burgdorf Junction Fire on the Payette National Forest near McCall, Idaho.
(Consolidated reports from Associated Press, US Army Public Affairs and US Forest Service contributed to this article.)
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