First Western Fire Crews

In 1970 the North Carolina Forest Service sent its first firefighting hand crews to fires in the western United States. The photos below were taken on August 29, 1970 and are of the second crew sent "Out West" that summer. The crew boss was Leonard A. Killian and they flew out of Raleigh-Durham Airport to battles blazes on the Wenatchee National Forest in the state of Washington. Though it doesn't feature the N.C. crews, these fires were the subject of a 1971 documentary called WILDFIRE!

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The crew arrives at the airport

State Forester Ralph Winkworth sees the crew off.