Vol. 30, No. 259

For more information, contact Nancy Rolli, Information and Education, 302-739-4506.

DNREC Engineer Returns from Fighting Fires in the West

Carl Yetter, environmental engineer with the Delaware Coastal Programs, Division of Soil and Water, returned last week to the comforts of his Dover home after spending 14 days in Idaho helping contain the "Crooked Fire" near Lolo Pass.

Yetter and 19 others in his group under the direction of Mike Brown, Delaware Forestry Service, Department of Agriculture, experienced first hand what it is like to arrive in an area where only ten percent of the forest-fire is contained. The group was part of a 650-person support camp answering the call to help an aggressive fire situation.

During his college years, Yetter recalled reading about the fires at Yellowstone, forests in flames that were a natural part of the ecological cycle and part of the western management system. His interest had been sparked, and fire management was something he wanted to do for a long time. Upon his return, he was able to say that he was a part of special process.

"I experienced first hand that cycle, its impending disasters and returned knowing that our group helped make a difference with 90 percent containment in Lolo Pass."

Carl is a volunteer fireman for the Dover Fire Department who enhanced his training by participating in seminars at the Delaware State Fire School under the Delaware Forestry Service Program. The Delaware Team is part of a compact of specialized firefighting crews that are available to share resources, on short notice, and to respond to fires anywhere in the country.

Wildfires raging across the West have burned more than five million acres this year in the nation’s worst fire season in decades. Hundreds of structures have burned and thousands of residents and vacationers have been driven out. (Document no. 40-01/00/08/28)

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