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Kentucky firefighters to help with western wildfire

A crew of Kentucky firefighters has been ordered through the Kentucky Interagency Coordination Center to assist with a wildfire in Idaho.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 14, 2012) — A crew of 20 Kentucky firefighters has been ordered through the Kentucky Interagency Coordination Center to assist with a wildfire in Idaho.

On Monday, the crew — comprised of firefighters from the Kentucky Division of Forestry — assembled at the Southern Interagency Fire Cache in London to prepare for departure. Upon arriving in Idaho, they will be assigned to the Trinity Ridge Fire. In addition to the 20-member crew, four single-resource KDF personnel are currently assisting with wildfire in Arkansas, California, Oklahoma and Oregon.

“We are fortunate that wildfire conditions in Kentucky have improved, which allowed us to provide these resources,” said Leah MacSwords, director for KDF.

Wildfires continue to burn out of control in parched areas across the western United States and the long-term weather forecast, showing no relief in sight, prompted the request for Kentucky’s help. Although wildfire activity in Kentucky has decreased since earlier in the summer, drought conditions remain a concern and a few counties are still enforcing burn bans.

Forestry officials continue to stress to the public that wildfire activity in Kentucky is still higher than normal for this time of year and to be cautious with any activity that could create a spark or cause a wildfire to spread. For information about current wildfire and burn bans, click here. For information about national fire news, please click here.