Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam announced today that the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Florida Forest Service has deployed a Type 2 Initial Attack Hand-Crew of 20 firefighters to help suppress the Ferguson Fire on the Sierra National Forest in California. The 36,500-acre wildfire began on July 13.
“Our wildland firefighters rise to the occasion time and again to assist wildfire suppression efforts not only in Florida, but throughout the country,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam. “I applaud their dedication to help the brave men and women out West keep our fellow Americans safe.”
This year, the Florida Forest Service has deployed 127 wildland firefighters across the country. In addition to the 20-person hand-crew deployed to California, there are currently 47 single resources deployed to assist with wildfire suppression in Texas, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, California, Oregon and Wyoming.
“There are currently 140 wildfires burning throughout the western United States, and our firefighters are ready to support suppression efforts in any way we can to help protect California’s residents, homes and wildlife,” said Florida Forest Service Director and State Forester Jim Karels.
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.
