Press Release  Massachusetts Sends Crew of Wildland Firefighters to Help Battle Idaho Fires

Boston — On Sunday August 11, 2024, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) sent a crew of state wildland firefighters to Boise, Idaho, to help battle ongoing blazes in the Pioneerville area. The 21-person crew is comprised of 18 DCR wildland firefighters and three from DFG’s Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife), who are qualified for national interagency wildfire mobilization. 

This is the second crew the state has sent so far this year to help with continued fire activity across the northwest, California, and the Rocky Mountain states. The ongoing fire activity combined with weather concerns have resulted in increased resource demands from all partnering federal and state resources nationwide. Last month, Massachusetts sent a 20-person crew of DCR and MassWildlife firefighters to Helena, Montana, where they helped battle active and uncontained large fires burning almost 46,000 acres across the state. The crew worked to contain the Sasse Bailer Fire in Billings, Montana. DCR also sent a firefighter to join a multi-agency Connecticut Wildfire Crew that was mobilized to Oregon on July 28. 

“With dry weather bringing on more wildfires in the western part of the country, our wildland firefighters are once again stepping up to help our friends and partners battle these devastating blazes,” said DCR Commissioner Brian Arrigo. “Our DCR and MassWildlife firefighters are extremely well-trained, and we know their skills are much needed and appreciated by our partners out west to help protect our valuable natural resources.” 

“Here in Massachusetts, we are committed to standing by our partners in other states to protect the public, our forests, and biodiversity from wildfire risks. We are extremely grateful for the dedicated staff from DCR and MassWildlife who have volunteered to contribute to this important cause," said Department of Fish & Game Commissioner Tom O’Shea. “As our crews battle these blazes alongside wildland firefighters from across the country, they will gain valuable skills and experience to bring home to support wildfire response and prescribed burns right here in the Commonwealth." 

The crew, which is also referred to as a “Type2 Initial Attack Hand Crew” will engage in direct fire suppression, working on the fire line for about 14 days – building fire breaks, securing fire perimeters, containing fires, and protecting structures. 

The deployment is in response to a request DCR Commissioner Brian Arrigo received Saturday morning from the Northeastern Interagency Coordination Center at the White Mountain National Forest in Campden, NH. Massachusetts was one of the original members of the Northeast Forest Fire Protection Commission, a compact comprised of the six New England states, New York, and four eastern Canadian provinces and provides international and interstate wildland fire mutual aid assistance. Partnering with the U.S. Forest Service and the Northeast Forest Fire Protection Commission, DCR’s Bureau of Forest Fire Control and Forestry has been sending crews since 1985 to fight fires in areas of the western and Rocky Mountain States, Alaska, Florida, Virginia, and Quebec.  

“A persistent wet weather pattern across the entire northeast region has kept wildfire activity low for most of this year,” said DCR Chief Fire Warden, Dave Celino. “The low fire activity in Massachusetts and other northeastern states enables us to lend support to our friends in the west through a well-coordinated national response system.” 

Nationally, as of August 10, 2024, there were 83 large fire incidents being managed with full suppression strategies. These current wildfires have burned nearly 2.5 million acres. The increase in the risk and extent of wildfires in the western part of the country over the last two decades has been driven by climate change-induced hotter and drier temperatures, extended drought and an atmospheric thirst, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Fire managers across the western region have been challenged by continued hot and dry conditions with low humidity, and isolated dry lightning. These conditions have dried forest and grassland fuels to critical levels that are conducive for active and extreme fire behavior.  

All firefighters are federally certified for the work, having passed a 40-hour federal wildland firefighting class and physical fitness test. Through the mutual aid agreement of the compact, the requesting state or province pays all expenses of the out-of-state crews, including salary, transportation, lodging, and food. 

The responding Massachusetts firefighters are as follows: 

###