MEDIA ADVISORY
June 19, 2012
Media invited to June 21 Firefighter Guard School
Crews prepare for fire season
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) invites media to attend the 2012 Interagency Wildland Firefighting Guard School, which started on June 18, 2012, at the Chewelah Peak Learning center. Over seventy five firefighters from six different firefighting agencies are attending.
The six agencies involved in the training are the United States Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Spokane Tribe of Indians, and local fire protection districts.
The firefighters are learning how topography, fuels, and weather affect the spread of wildfire, how to properly use water pumps and hand tools, and how to deploy a fire shelter. The firefighters are learning this through a combination of classroom and hands-on practice. All this hard work will cumulate on Friday afternoon when the new firefighters get to apply what they have learned on a training fire.
Debbie Plummer, Training Incident Commander, states, “Our mission this week is to give them the tools to come home without injuries every day as they do their job of protecting our forests and rangeland from wildfires.”
The media will see crews performing typical firefighting activities and will have the opportunity to interview firefighters and instructors.
Cell phone coverage is limited in the area. Please call ahead if you have questions.
Media opportunity
| What: | Photo and interview opportunity of firefighter training crews |
| When: | June 21, 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. |
| Where: | Chewelah Peak Learning Center |
Directions:
| - Drive North on Hwy 395 (stay to the left when you approach the north side of Spokane as to not take Highway 2 at the Y)
- Once in Chewelah, turn right (east) at the stoplight on Main Street
- Once you go through some gentle curves, you will be on Flowery Trail Road. Follow this road for approximately 8 miles.
- When you reach the summit, you will see two roads on the left that go to the homeowners’ area; the learning center’s driveway is just beyond the homeowners’ on the left as you head down the hill.
- There is a small sign at the road that reads CHEWELAH PEAK LEARNING CENTER. You will see a snow park-parking loop on the right when you reach the driveway on the left.
Map to Chewelah Peak Learning Center |
Media Contacts:
Janet Pearce, Communications and Outreach, 360-902-1122, janet.pearce@dnr.wa.gov
Guy Gifford, Northeast Region Fire Prevention Forester, 509-990-6218, guy.gifford@dnr.wa.gov
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