Skip to footer

More than 3,000 residents volunteer as Washington firefighters

Washington officials say more than 3,000 people responded to the call for volunteers to fight the wildfires raging across the state. 

|
David Ryder/Reuters
Firefighters flee as the Twisp River fire advances unexpectedly near Twisp, Wash., Aug. 20, 2015. Washington officials say more than 3,000 people called and emailed in response to the state’s request for volunteer help with wildfires.
  • By Beatrice Gitau Staff

For the first time ever, Washington State has asked for volunteers to help fight the raging wildfires devastating the state.

More than 3,000 people responded to the request through calls and emails, the Associated Press reported.

Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) put out the call as a flurry of wildfires raged unchecked in the Pacific Northwest, placing a severe strain on state resources.

"If people want to help, we'd like them to contact our coordinators so we can work on getting them safely and appropriately involved," said Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark. "We appreciate all offers of qualified and trained support. Safety for everyone is our highest priority."

The DNR says it is being flooded with volunteers who want to offer a helping hand.

"“They’ve been just kind of constantly coming in," said Joe Smillie, a department spokesman, to the Los Angeles Times. "We’ve had people come in with everything from a backhoe or a water tender or an old fashioned fire truck to people with nothing but boots and a strong back, as they say."

 As volunteers poured in, the department clarified that it needed qualified applicants.

"In less than a day, an unprecedented outpouring of volunteers has inundated both [volunteer] centers, far outpacing the few available staff to process and deploy qualified volunteers," the department said on its Facebook page. "We want to reiterate that we are seeking those with firefighting expertise only – particularly those who currently hold, or have previously held, red or blue card certifications."

On Friday, President Obama declared the the Washington fires a federal emergency, which enables the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to offer additional assistance and resources like emergency power generation, properly functioning equipment, health and safety inspections, and more.

“This declaration is welcome news for the communities on the front lines battling the wildfires,” Washington Governor Jay Inslee said in a statement. “With the high danger the firefighters are experiencing it is crucial we maintain our communications and power equipment.”

Earlier this week, officials from The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, announced that they have enlisted the help of 70 fire managers and specialists from Australia and New Zealand to help fight the unrelenting blazes. 

Three firefighters died in the north-central area of state on Wednesday, bringing to 13 the number of firefighters killed across the West this year. Thousands have been forced to evacuate, and more than a hundred homes have been destroyed so far. 

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to More than 3,000 residents volunteer as Washington firefighters
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/0822/More-than-3-000-residents-volunteer-as-Washington-firefighters
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe