News Releases for July 2006
July 19, 2006
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Hoeven Dispatches National Guard Troops, Helicopters, To Fight Wild Fires Near Fort Yates
BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. John Hoeven today dispatched National Guard troops on the ground to help battle a fire between Selfridge and Fort Yates that flared up again this morning after firefighters managed to get it under control overnight. Hoeven has also sent a National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk and a UH-1 Huey helicopter with water buckets to help local authorities fight the fire. A second Huey is at the ready if needed.
"Our first priority is the personal safety of residents and firefighters," Hoeven said. "We have state resources on the scene and will help local officials in any way we can to help protect people and property."
Hoeven last week issued a fire emergency, which is still in effect, enabling activation of the state Emergency Operations Plan and state assistance. The Governor also activated the N.D. Department of Transportation, Highway Patrol, and other state agencies to assist the firefighting effort as needs arise.
The first line of defense is coming from local resources with assistance from state and federal agencies. Fire fighting units on the scene include Sioux County, Selfridge, Solen, Flasher, Fort Yates, McIntosh, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). In addition, BIA has called in a Type II Incident Management Team. The state Department of Emergency Services is coordinating the state agencies, and the North Dakota Forest Service has four fire engines on the scene. Authorities believe the fire was caused by lightning.
The fire has consumed a swathe of grassland approximately 15 miles long and two miles wide, an area of roughly 12,000 acres. The response teams are currently doing a perimeter GIS assessment. Winds are NNW at 5 to 20 miles per hour, with gusts of up to 25 miles an hour. Firefighters managed to divert the direction of the fire from northeast to west, and it began to die down. Ten households were evacuated, and 400 head of cattle were relocated. Two firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
State officials have also lent assistance to local officials fighting fires in Lemmon, Hettinger, Mott, New Leipzig, Elgin, Heil, Amidon, and areas south of Wilton. Those fires are reportedly now extinguished or contained.
"We need to emphasize that drought conditions across our state require all of us to exercise extreme caution when doing anything that could start a wild fire," Hoeven said. "No matter what we’re doing, we need to take the greatest level of care to protect people and property in this extremely dry environment."
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