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Thanks to Our Neighbors in Fighting Fire on INL
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| Idaho Bureau of
Homeland Security view of the Twin Buttes Wildland fire aftermath
atop the
East Twin Butte. |
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As the Department of Energy’s manager at the Idaho
National Laboratory, I want to commend the outstanding efforts of
 |
| More than 50
firefighters and equipment battled the fire that was contained
at 9:10 p.m. Mountain Standard Time July 19, 2007 |
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| An aerial scan
of the area indicated the fire burned more than 9,000 acres. |
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INL
employees, and firefighting and law enforcement staff from our regional
neighbors for the outstanding team-work they exhibited in controlling the
Twin Buttes Fire on the INL from July 18-20.
The INL Firefighters and support workers joined
together with the Blackfoot Fire Department, Idaho Falls Fire Department,
Shelley Fire Department, Bureau of Land Management firefighters,
Shoshone-Bannock Tribal fire crews, the Idaho State Police, and the Bingham
and Butte County sheriff’s offices to effectively control the blaze and
protect people and structures until the fire was extinguished. The team
work and cooperation among INL staff and off-site agencies was truly
impressive, and we at the INL greatly appreciate the way our neighbors jump
in to help when there is a fire on the Site.
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| Authorities are assessing fire
damage to communications equipment and power poles atop the East
Butte. |
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Because of the dry conditions and the wide expanse of
land covered by the INL, we know there will be fires on the site, both man-
and nature-caused. We prepare for them through training, maintenance of
equipment, and building buffer zones around our major facilities. (See
http://newsdesk.inl.gov/index.cfm?file=20070604 for more on our fire
preparations.) Inevitably, however, we will have large fires on the site,
and we rely on the skill and cooperation of the outstanding INL firefighters
and those of our neighbors.
I have attached some photos on this page to show you
the extent of the Twin Buttes fire and its aftermath. We are thankful there
were no injuries and minimal property damage caused by this fire. I urge
you all to be extra careful about fires this summer, in light of the
extremely dry conditions we currently face.
Elizabeth Sellers
Manager, Idaho Operations Office
U.S. Department of Energy
07/26/07
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