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Five additional wildland firefighters from the
Alabama Forestry Commission (AFC) are being sent to assist the Texas Forest
Service, bringing the total number of Alabama firefighters to 51 who have
battled Texas wildfires since February of this year. They will be departing
from Tuscaloosa at 10:00 am on Friday, May 9. This eighth team is replacing
a group of firefighters who are scheduled to return early next week.
During their 16-day assignment, these Alabama
firefighters will be involved in initial fire attack, operating heavy
wildland fire suppression units (bulldozers) as the other crews have been
doing over the past few months. The first AFC team left on February 23.
These AFC firefighters are joining crews from
several other states under the terms of the Southern Fire Compact. This
mutual aid agreement between the southern states, activated at the request
of each state’s State Forester, provides firefighting assistance in case of
severe wildfire conditions.
On Wednesday, May 7,
there were four new fires for 1,669 acres, including one for 800 acres and
one for 702 acres. Three homes were evacuated, but 21 homes and 28
outbuildings were saved. Very dry conditions continue across the
western portions of the state, with relative humidity values in the single
digits and winds gusting up to 40 mph. Since the first of the year, a total
of 7,578 wildfires have consumed over a million acres in the state of
Texas.
For more information,
contact:
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Steve May
Fire Division Director
Alabama Forestry Commission
(334) 240-9335
Mobile: (334) 850-7592 |
Lou Hyman
Assistant
Fire Division Director
Alabama Forestry Commission Telephone: (334) 240-9354
Mobile: (334) 868-9338 |
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