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Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet
Division of Forestry firefighters go West
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 24, 2005) – Twenty firefighters from the Kentucky Division of Forestry have been sent to Idaho to assist in battling one of the fires scorching thousands of acres in the West.
The Kentuckians, all volunteers, were dispatched last week. They will be on leave from the division and paid by the U.S. Forest Service. The group is expected to return Aug. 31 or Sept. 1.
The fire is in the Nez Perce National Forest, 15 miles east of Grangeville, Idaho, and is burning in an area heavily damaged by pine beetles. Its size is estimated to be 1,860 acres.
“We are fortunate that current conditions in Kentucky allow us to offer assistance,” said Leah MacSwords, director of the Kentucky Division of Forestry. “If drought conditions continue here in Kentucky, we may have to ask the U.S. Forest Service to return the favor this fall.”
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