Long Island Gives Back: How You Can Help the Arizona Wildfire Victims

LongIsland.com

Here are some ways you can help the victims of the tragic Arizona wildfires.

Print Email

As Long Islanders, we are unfortunately familiar with wildfires.  On Sunday in Yarnell, Arizona a fast moving wildfire took the lives of nineteen firefighters and destroyed 250 homes.  Officials said that this is country's worst wildfire disaster in at least 30 years.  It is also the most firefighters lost on one day since September 11, 2001.  Gusting winds and dry grass fed the blaze as it tore through the communities of Yarnell and Glen Isla about 85 miles northwest of Phoenix.

The lost firefighters were all members of the Prescott Fire Department's Granite Mountain Hotshots. They specialize in attacking wildfires like the Yarnell Hill Fire. These elite firefighters often hike for miles into the wilderness with chain saws and backpacks filled with heavy gear to build lines of protection between people and fires. They remove brush, trees and anything that might burn in the direction of homes and cities.

The blaze has destroyed half of the town's homes. It has burned more than 2,000 acres and is uncontained, fire officials said. Federal firefighting help is on the way and that the number of firefighters on the scene will reach 400.

Here are some ways you can help the vicitims of the Arizona wildfires:

 

Just as so many showed their support to Long Islanders after Hurricane Sandy, so should we support Arizona in their time of need.

If you're involved in any community outreach programs, or you're organizing an event in support of Arizona, email us at news@longisland.com to be included in this list.

[Source: USA Today]