Nevada sends people, equipment to fight Florida fires

Thursday, June 25, 1998 | 1:39 a.m.

Bob Knutson, assistant manager of the Western Great Basin Coordinating Center, said 38 people and five engines had been dispatched or were about to leave for Florida.

The engines were being shipped on flatbeds Thursday, accompanied by 17 of the 38 people from Elko, Winnemucca, Eureka, Carson City and Ely.

Knutson said the interagency center already has sent six people from the Bureau of Land Management, one from the National Park Service at Lake Mead, one from the U.S. Forest Service, three from the Nevada Division of Forestry and one from the National Weather Service.

Nine smoke jumpers from Boise, Idaho, also were sent out by the Reno center.

The people will be in Florida up to three weeks.

Five other firefighters are about to end their 21-day deployment to battle blazes in Mexico, Knutson said.

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