Record Wildfire in Washington gets International, Local Help
Warren Heslip, 47, of Southland, New Zealand, receives a yellow firefighting shirt at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. Australian and New Zealand firefighters have arrived in the United States and prepared to fan out to help fight wildfires burning in several western states.
As Washington state’s wildfires burnt into the record books on Monday, calls for help were answered from far and near.
Fire managers from New Zealand and Australia arrived to contribute to a ground campaign led by firefighters from across the West and augmented by US soldiers.
The flames that claimed the lives of three firefighters, injured four others and burnt 200 homes also inspired an outpouring of volunteers who have been invited for the first time in state history to help battle the blazes.
This summer’s fire response across the West has been overwhelmed by destructive blazes tearing through the tinder-dry region. Details
