COLUMBUS, OH -- A crew of 20 Ohio firefighters was dispatched Thursday night to fight a 1,200-acre wildfire at Black Hills National Forest in southwest South Dakota, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
Another 20-person fire crew that was dispatched from Ohio on July 15 continues to fight a 1,600-acre wildfire at Gila National Forest in western New Mexico.
At the request of the U.S. Forest Service, the Ohio Interagency Fire Crew will spend up to two weeks assisting wildfire suppression efforts in the national forest.
Members of the Ohio crew include two ODNR employees, one employee from the Ohio Fire Academy, four from the National Park Service and 13 volunteer firefighters from around the state.
These missions provide our ODNR employees and the volunteer fire forces here in Ohio valuable experience in fighting wildland fires, said Mark Ervin, acting assistant chief of the ODNR Division of Forestry. As a result of their experiences, they will be better prepared to handle fires and protect resources here in Ohio, he said.