The North Carolina Forest Service has dispatched two hand crews to work on the 2,600 acre Anaconda Creek Fire in Alaska. The blaze, located approximately 27 miles northeast of Fairbanks, began June 20 with a lightning strike and encompasses approximately than 2,600 acres.
A dispatch normally lasts for 14 days, plus two days for travel at each end of the assignment. The state Forest Service is able to send personnel out west when fire activity in North Carolina is relatively low and can be handled by local resources. The jobs filled by N.C. Forest Service personnel include everything from the command and general staff on a fire to members of hand crews digging fire lines, which consists of removing vegetation down to mineral soil using tools such as a Pulaski, fire rake, etc. These opportunities are invaluable when it comes to providing training opportunities for many our firefighters.
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