U.S. Army and foreign crews called in to assist with western wildfires


Crews from the U.S. Army and Canada have been called in to help firefighters battle blazes stretching across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, and Montana.
High winds in the Pacific Northwest are fanning the flames of several wildfires, and the small Washington town of Tonasket had to be evacuated by authorities late Thursday, Reuters reports. There are more than 70 wildfires burning in the western United States, and 71 fire managers and specialists from Australia and New Zealand are set to arrive in Idaho on Aug. 23 to provide assistance. So far this year, 13 firefighters and support personnel have died fighting wildfires, including three who were killed Wednesday in Washington.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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