State firefighters battle Great Dismal Swamp fire

Twenty Delaware firefighters are expected to return Aug. 26 from a 14-day assignment to help combat a wildfire in Virginia’s Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge that has burned 6,000 acres to date and is only 15 percent contained.

Started by lightning Aug. 4, the fire is still smoldering in deep layers of decayed organic matter. Periodic rainfall has not been sufficient to extinguish the blaze, and firefighters are pumping water into the area’s extensive system of ditches and canals to flood the fire zone. More than 400 personnel are currently assigned to the incident. This is Delaware’s first out-of-state fire assignment since battling California fires in summer 2009.

For information updates,  go to http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2458/.