National Fire Plan Success Story
Nord au Quebec - U.S. Interagency Crew Helps in Canada
U.S. National Park Service and USDA Forest Service
National Fire Plan - Firefighting
2010
View from the air of the Smoky Lake Fire. NPS photo.
Firefighter Chris Siwik works on the ground. NPS photo.
Timothy Ginger and Adam Day are cleaned up and ready to travel back south. NPS photo.
Acadia National Park’s Bryan Daigle got to practice his French this summer on an international wildland fire assignment. The seasonal fire cache manager grew up in Maine on its border with New Brunswick, Canada. His parents, grandparents and many of his neighbors were bilingual. It had been a while since he had spoken much French, so before he headed out he wisely checked with his mother. She reminded him how to say, “Talk slower;” “I understand;” and,” I don’t understand.” Those phrases helped him to reach out to people, including a group with whom he spoke about defensible space.
The Province of Quebec had a very busy summer fire season and the U.S. lent a hand, or, about 140 pairs of hands, in the form of seven fire crews. The Northeast Forest Fire Protection Compact facilitated the deployment of six state crews and the USDA Forest Service and National Park Service crew. In July 2010, USDA Forest Service and US National Park Service firefighters assisted the Society for the Protection of Forests against Fire, SOPFEU, in suppressing the Lac Smoky/Smoky Lake Fire, which covered more than 140,000 hectares or 346,000 acres.
The federal crews came from Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forest, White Mountain National Forest, Cape Cod National Seashore and Acadia National Park. They all enjoyed the chance to work, learn, and share perspectives with their Canadian counterparts. C’etait la bonnne. That was good.
Contact: Barb Stewart, Fire Communication and Education Specialist, NPS Northeast and National Capital Regions, 434-220-9065.