Alabama Forestry Commission Firefighters Re-routed to Montana
Due to improving weather and fire conditions in Idaho, 20 wildland firefighters from the Alabama Forestry Commission (AFC) have been re-deployed. Originally scheduled to assist the Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture, with wildfires in Cascade, Idaho, they are now assigned to the Skyland Fire located in the Flathead National Forest near Kalispell, Montana.
The AFC firefighters are among over 600 federal, state and fire department personnel battling the wildfire, which has already scorched 19,488 acres. They form part of the initial attack crews working the blaze.
Started by lightning on July 23, the Skyland Fire is now approximately 16 miles long, 1 to 2 miles wide, and only 5% contained. Burning, in part, within the Blackfeet Reservation, the fire continues to threaten homes, and evacuations are in effect for area residents. This is just one of 13 wildfires currently ablaze across the state of Montana.
Working 12-hour shifts each day, the AFC team will be on assignment for 14 days before returning to Alabama.
– Press release from Alabama Forestry Commission
