Ten National Park Service firefighters returned home in late February after assisting authorities suppress bush fires in Australia. These skilled NPS firefighters worked in the Australian state of Victoria to fight fires that had been burning since December 2006. National Park Service personnel began to arrive for work in Australia on January 22nd. While on assignment,they worked for the Department of Sustainability and Environment in Victoria for 30 days. All ten NPS employees have since returned to their respective home units.
The individuals that went to Australia on behalf of the National Park Service included:
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Chris Kirby, Michael Lehman, Shawn Phillips, and Travis Ramsey - Alpine Hotshots
Midwest Regional Office, Omaha, Nebraska
Doug Alexander - Regional Fire Management Officer
Glacier National Park, Montana
Mike Frislie - Fire Operations Specialist
Pacific West Regional Office, Oakland, California
Christie Neill - Deputy Regional Fire Management Officer
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Dan Oltrogge - Fire Management Officer
Colorado National Monument, Colorado
Dave Price - Chief of Resource Management
Big Cypress National Park, Florida
George Sheppard - Assistant Fire Management Officer
The first time that the United States requested firefighting support from the international community was the extreme fire season of 2000. Several countries responded by sending personnel to assist with firefighting activities. Since then, international assistance has become a valuable tool for several countries when the need for additional support arises. Last summer, more than 100 ground firefighters and fire aviation managers came from Australia and New Zealand to assist the United States during the western summer fire season.
This year, Australia called upon the United States, Canada, and New Zealand to help combat their large bush fires. The United States responded by sending two 20-person Type 1 crews, and 67 additional supervisory fire management personnel such as division supervisors, operations sections chiefs, and aviation support personnel. The fires in Victoria were caused by an extended drought with high temperatures, and low relative humidity this year.
One of many from the United States was Christie Neill, deputy fire management officer in the Pacific West Region for the National Park Service.
“Even though the fire activity had moderated considerably once we got there, I think we were able to contribute in several ways to their overall program needs,” she says. “It was an honor to represent the United States while returning the favor for Australians helping us during big fire seasons over the lastseven years.”
George Sheppard, assistant FMO atBig Cypress National Preserve, agreed that the experience gained in Australia was extremely valuable. “As a member of the Southwest Area Incident Management Team, I had the honor of serving our country at the World Trade Center.This Australian fire assignment, for exact opposite reasons, equaled that honor, with memories of the happiest experiences of my career.”
Contact: Roberta D'Amico, NPS Fire Communications and Education, National Program Lead
Phone: (208) 387-5239 |
