The Washington State taskforce has been deployed to Hawaii.
This graphic shows the location of fires on the island of Maui, Hawaii, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. Several thousand Hawaii residents raced to escape homes on Maui as the Lahaina fire swept across the island, killing multiple people and burning parts of a centuries-old town.
“I’m ready to roll,” Ryan Nash, a task force leader and Seattle firefighter, said. “We’re anticipating getting right to work when we get there.” The team is traveling with about 60,000 pounds worth of equipment. “We have some structural specialists, rescue specialists, doctors, the typical team structure that we deploy with,” Todd Magliocca, a Tacoma firefighter and task force leader, said. This isn’t the first time the team has been sent to Maui. They were deployed there in 2018 for Hurricane Lane.
“One of which did encompass with Hurricane Lane and then it also had some of the wildfires that occurred there as well so we’ll be doing something similar to that,” Nash said. There are also five K9 teams traveling to the island. Johanna Hauxen and her dog, Bax, are part of the team. Bax is a FEMA-certified human remains detection dog.
“They can do what nobody else can do,” Hauxen said. “They can use their nose to find people under a lot of debris and rubble and where we cannot see anything so we know where we need to start digging.”
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Washington state task force sending 45 first responders to Hawaii to assist with search and rescueWashington State is sending 45 members of its Task Force-1 to assist with search and rescue efforts as wildfires continue to ravage the Hawaiian Islands. FOX13
Read more »
Oregon State, Washington State left out of college reshufflingOregon State and Washington State are struggling to find a new conference affiliation after being left out of the recent Pac-12 reshuffling. While other schools are finding new homes in conferences like the Big Ten and Big 12, the Cougars and Beavers are still searching for stability.
Read more »
Hawaii Wildfire Updates: Island Fires Rage as Hurricane Passes South of HawaiiHawaii wildfires, fueled by winds from Hurricane Dora, have led to evacuations as they continue to spread across the island. Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke has issued a proclamation in response to the situation.
Read more »
Fast-moving Hawaii fires will take a heavy toll on the state's environmentThe fast-moving wildfires that raked Maui this week will take a heavy toll on the environment. Experts say the fires are likely to transform the landscape in unwanted ways including hastening erosion, sending sediment into waterways and degrading coral that is critically important to the islands, ma
Read more »
Why Washington State ferry prices may soon go upThe commission is looking to increase prices annually, starting this October.
Read more »