Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and the Florida Forest Service announced the deployment of an additional 20-person group to help assist with fires in the Pacific Northwest.
The FFS is sending Type 2 initial attack hand crew to Montana to support ongoing wildfire suppression efforts. On July 14, the National Preparedness Level was elevated to five, which indicates the highest level of wildfire activity.
There are currently more than 21,500 wildland firefighters and support personnel and 28 incident management teams assigned to at least 82 large wildfires that have burned nearly 1.7 million acres across 13 states.
“As the devastating wildfires continue to threaten our fellow Americans across the West, I am incredibly proud of our well-trained wildland firefighters and personnel who are choosing to leave their homes and families to help their fellow firefighters,” said Commissioner Nikki Fried.