Maryland Forest Service Welcomes Home Seven Firefighters Sent To Battle Texas Wildfires
ANNAPOLIS – On Wednesday, January 25, the Maryland Forest Service (MFS) welcomed home seven firefighters sent to assist with the wildfire situation in the state of Texas. The first Maryland firefighters were sent to Texas on January 4.
The firefighters flew to Houston and headed for Lufkin where they were assigned to various Texas Forest Service districts across the North East Zone as tractor plow (fire dozer) operators for initial attack of new wildfires. While interagency wildland fire mobilization is common for MFS in the summer months, it is relatively uncommon for this time of year in the southern Great Plains.
The firefighters from the Eastern Region included Donald Kronner of Snow Hill (Worcester County), and Derek Albers of Goldsboro (Caroline County), both from the Maryland Forest Service, and W. Martin Callahan of Centerville (Queen Anne’s County) from the Maryland Park Service.
Firefighters from the Central Region were Shawn Day of North East (Cecil County) and John McCarthy of Ellicott City (Howard County); from the Western Region, Kevin Moore of Keedysville (Washington County); and from the Southern Region, P. Shannon Wolfe of Leonardtown (St Mary's County). All work for the Maryland Forest Service.
The wildfire situation has moderated in Texas with some rainfall and improved weather conditions allowing the demobilization of resources to their home states. A Texas Forest Service official commented that they could not thank the State of Maryland enough for supporting their districts by lending resources during this critical time..