FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 26, 2000

COLUMBUS, OH -- A crew of 20 Ohio fire fighters has been dispatched to Montana, part of a multi-state team mobilized to help suppress major forest fires in the Helena National Forest, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).

At the request of the U.S. Forest Service, the Ohio Interagency Fire Crew left Columbus late Monday night for a staging area in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. On Tuesday, they joined four other crews from New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania on a charter flight to Helena, Montana.

The Ohio crew, with 19 men and one woman, includes 13 ODNR employees, two students and one instructor from Hocking College in Nelsonville, two employees from the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area and two volunteer fire fighters not affiliated with a state or federal agency.

According to Nate Kirk, fire control administrator with the ODNR Division of Forestry, the Ohio crew has been assigned to the 9,000-acre "Bucksnort" fire in the Helena National Forest, on the west shore of Canyon Ferry Lake about 12 miles northeast of the city of Helena. They are expected to remain in Montana for two weeks.

"This region contains a number of lightning-produced fires that are spreading rapidly and have been assigned top priority. At least six structures have been destroyed and many others are threatened. Fire danger remains extremely high and dry lightning is forecast throughout the region," Kirk said.

"Under our agreement with the U.S. Forest Service, ODNR and other government agencies in Ohio stand ready to share fire fighting resources with other jurisdictions in the United States, Canada and Mexico. All personnel costs and other expenses are reimbursed by the federal government," he said.

"In addition to helping other states in a time of need, this multi-state partnership provides an important opportunity for hands-on training of Ohio fire fighters in wildfire suppression and incident command systems."

In recent years, Ohio crews have also been assigned to fight fires in Florida, California, Oregon and Washington.

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