FireLink

5 County Firefighters Remain on Duty Out West

Five Boone County firefighters assigned to battle wildfires in northern California are safe and accounted for after a helicopter crash Tuesday night that is feared to have killed eight firefighters and a pilot.

Gale Blomenkamp, division chief with the Boone County Fire Protection District, said communication with the five Boone County firefighters is limited but he has received word they are safe and “all of the Missouri firefighters are accounted for.”

Blomenkamp said three of the firefighters are assigned to Klamath National Forest and two firefighters are working in Six Rivers National Forest. This is the first wildfire season that Boone County firefighters have been deployed to California.

One of the firefighters is expected to return Saturday, Blomenkamp said, and the others should be back in about 10 days.

Blomenkamp said the helicopter crash, which occurred in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, reinforces how dangerous the job is but did not raise a lot of fear among the firefighting community.

“They would have told us immediately if they would have suspected it involved any of our people,” he said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the firefighters and families that are left behind because of it.”

Since last month, nine Boone County firefighters have been sent to California. Four have returned.

Two firefighters now deployed are on their second 14-day assignments.

The fire district has about 20 trained wildland firefighters who can respond to the West.

---