39 Mainers return from fighting forest fires in California

The “Siege of ’90” ended for 39 men from across the state Tuesday when they arrived home after 11 days fighting forest fires in northern California.

Most of the crew — college students, firefighters and forest rangers — sported T-shirts with the logo “Siege of ’90” and a map of the dozen fires that blazed across northern California this summer.

Many of the men worked nearly 200 hours between the time they left Maine Aug. 10 and their return Aug. 21, said Michael Ricci, an 11-year employee with the Maine Forest Service, who was the crew representative for the contingent.

The Maine firefighters were stationed in Anderson, Calif., a town of 7,500 residents about 140 miles north of Sacramento. From the staging area, more than 2,000 people from a half-dozen states fought five fires. Across California, 14 fires burned tens of thousands of acres.

Crews from Maine spent their time mopping up, said William Greaves, a five-year veteran of the Maine Forest Service who was a crew boss. “It was winding down when we were there. They’d had no rain since February. One day, they had 2 inches of rain and that helped a lot, although there was lightning that started a couple more fires.”

No major injuries were sustained by anyone on the two Maine crews, Ricci said, holding a satchel and a 15-inch souvenir pine cone after arriving at Bangor International Airport. “There were minor injuries like blisters and a lot of poison oak but nothing serious.”

Many of the firefighters rescheduled their vacations with their departments in order to make the trip, Ricci said.

The firefighters, who all volunteered for the trip, were requested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Services under terms of an agreement providing mutual aid and assistance between the states and the federal agency, Thomas Parent, supervisor of forest fire control for the Maine Forest Service, said in a prepared statement.

The salaries and expenses of the crew members will be paid by the USDA Forest Service.

“We are pleased to be able to provide assistance when it’s needed and to also give our people a chance to gain valuable experience as professional firefighters who will contribute to the protection of Maine’s forest resource,” Parent said.