UPDATE: Delaware Wildland Firefighters Mobilized to Arizona

Image courtesy Inciweb

UPDATE: The Delaware Forest Service has mobilized 13 wildfire crew members from Blackbird State Forest to Arizona’s Tonto National Forest, approximately 150 miles northeast of Phoenix, to assist with containment of the month-old Billy fire. The Billy fire was discovered on July 9th following a dry lightning storm and covers over 17,200 acres. While at least 13 percent of the fire’s perimeter has been contained, continued fire growth is expected to the south and west towards Carr Mountain and Parker Creek, as well as private properties. This is the third wildfire the Delaware Forest Service has assisted with this summer, following two deployments to Colorado to help with the Turner Gulch fire earlier in July.

Additional information from the Delaware Department of Agriculture: 

Crew members include Sam Topper (crew boss), Hannah Small, Tom Hairgrove, Edward Boyer, Dave Pro, Matthew Grant, William Seybold, Robert Young, Josh Eastman, Nathan Riley, Noah Salemi, Jared Smith, and Jakob Lasocha. The Delaware Forest Service wildfire crew is drawn from both public and private sectors, who have completed their certification training with the National Wildfire Coordinating Center. Per the United States Forest Service, the National Preparedness Level is at a 4 out of 5, reflecting heavier-than-normal response readiness for our wildland firefighting crews. Delaware has trained more than 600 firefighters since 1996 and battled wildfires in numerous states, including Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, California, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, and Washington. https://de.gov/wildfire.

Original Post:

Early Wednesday morning 13 Delaware wildland firefighters will be leaving Blackbird State Forest in Smyrna for Arizona. Delaware’s wildland fire team is responding to an increase in wildfires in the western U.S. The crew will travel to Tonto National Forest in Young, Arizona for positioning at the Billy Fire. The Delaware team will be deployed for 14 days. 

The Billy Fire has burned over 15,488 acres and is currently about 12% contained.  It is a lightning-caused wildfire on the Tonto National Forest, 15 miles south of Young, Arizona. Firefighters are taking a full suppression strategy on the fire situated on the east side of the Sierra Ancha Mountains.  According to Inciweb, this fire broke out on July 9th.  There are currently 36 large active wildfires across the United States. 

Just a few weeks ago a three-man team and engine helped battle the Turner Gulch wildfire near Grand Junction, Colorado.