Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam announced today that the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Florida Forest Service is deploying 28 firefighters to assist wildfire suppression efforts in Northwest Oklahoma.
“Our wildland firefighters are always prepared to provide unwavering support to other states in need of assistance to fight wildfires, and I applaud their selfless dedication to protecting our fellow Americans,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam.
The Florida Forest Service has assembled an Incident Management Team of 28 wildland firefighters from various districts around the state. The crew will fly to Oklahoma tomorrow and will be assigned to manage the suppression efforts on the 130,000-acre 34 Complex wildfire.
“Our firefighters have proven their bravery time and again when fighting Florida’s wildfires,” said Florida Forest Service Director and State Forester Jim Karels. “They are exceptionally well-trained, and we are ready to support the suppression efforts in Oklahoma in any way we can.”
The Florida Forest Service, a division of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, manages more than 1 million acres of state forests and provides forest management assistance on more than 17 million acres of private and community forests. The Florida Forest Service is also responsible for protecting homes, forestland and natural resources from the devastating effects of wildfire on more than 26 million acres. Learn more at FloridaForestService.com.
