We didn’t start the fire, but …
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- July
- 9
  New York is providing the Army National Guard’s specially equipped Firehawk Helicopter to help fight fires in California, Gov. David Paterson just announced. The state has one of five Firehawk helicopters in the country. Â
  A number of states are assisting with efforts to fight fires in California, which have burned nearly 1,000 acres in the last two weeks. Florida is providing a six-person crew to fly the Firehawk to California tomorrow and, once there, help fight the fires. New York’s Firehawk-trained pilots were not available because they are preparing for deployment to Iraq.
   “No matter the state you are from, we have a responsibility to protect our citizens. We also have the moral obligation to provide assistance to other states when the need arises,†Paterson said in a statement. “This is such a time.â€
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   An estimated 1,750 fires have burned 960 square miles of California in the last two weeks. News reports have said that more than 300 of the fires are uncontained. It may take weeks to bring them all under control, officials said.Â
  The Firehawk was acquired in 2004 to help local firefighters and the state Department of Environmental Conservation control wildfires. It can hold up to 1,000 gallons of water and can be filled to capacity in about 60 seconds. It can also be filled with other types of fire-retardant material, such as foam.
(Photo: NYS Division of Military and Naval Affairs.)
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 at 10:50 am by Cara Matthews.
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