Crew members from the Mark Twain National Forest are helping battle California wildfires.
The Mark Twain Veteran Crew is a U.S. Forest Service wildland firefighting group whose members all have prior military experience.
Veteran Crew Superintendant Sam Bowen’s group has been assigned to chase down reports of new wildfires that have started in the southern California area.
“We have stayed busy, getting dispatched for fire responses every day since we arrived,” said Bowen.
The U.S. Forest Service noted in a press release that weather forecasts show dry air and wind are sticking around, which means that the crew will likely stay busy chasing down fires throughout their assignment.
“We are currently dispatching a second crew of 13 more people to join in the efforts, in addition to the 26 firefighters that are already out there with the Veteran Crew,” said Mark Twain Fire Management Officer Jim Cornelius. “We traditionally provide a lot of support in late summer to western states; and even though the timing for this is a little unusual, we have many folks that are ready to join in to support national wildfire response needs whenever they arise.”