Australia, New Zealand firefighters to aid with US blazes

Australian and New Zealand firefighters have arrived in the United States and on Monday prepared to fan out to help fight wildfires burning in several western states. On arrival in Los Angeles they will transfer to the National Interagency Fire Centre (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho, for a briefing and onward deployment to either Washington, Montana, California or Oregon.

“They meet the same qualifications that we put our folks through here”.

Three US firefighters have been killed battling one of the fires, and Mr Stephens said he was well aware of the demands of the task at hand.

The biggest fire burning on Monday was in Okanogan County on the Canadian border, where a group of five fires raging out of control became the largest in state history, fire spokesman Rick Isaacson said.

The New Zealand team will be joined by 60 Australian firefighters. So far, about 200 people with the right experience have been cleared to work.

“I want to say this is an unprecedented cataclysm in our state”, Inslee said Thursday.

Snohomish County Fire District 7 firefighter Brandon Gardner pulls a water hose into position while helping prevent a wildfire from spreading to a nearby homeowner’s property near Okanogan, Washington. “There were no witnesses to the actual event of the truck leaving the road, except Daniel, who is not able to talk to us for quite some time”, Phipps said Sunday at a news conference in Wenatchee. Crews worked to prevent embers from sparking fires outside containment lines.

The American Red Cross moved its Republic, Washington, fire shelter to Grace Evangelical Free Church in Colville as the North Star fire southwest of Republic grew, covering an estimated 147,000 acres.

High temperatures, dry conditions and lightning strikes were hampering efforts by thousands of local firefighters and army volunteers.

Isaacson called the record unfortunate and said the fire could burn until rain and snow season arrives.

A Level 2 evacuation notice was in effect for the city of Republic and surrounding communities.

People in areas affected by wildfire smoke are encouraged to monitor air quality using current information found on the Department of Ecology’s website.