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BLM sends help from Boise office to battle Australia bush fires

Jennifer Myslivy is working alongside international partners to help with communication and information needs.

BOISE, Idaho — A world away from Idaho, fires continues to destroy parts of Australia.

Getting everything under control is a massive task, a task that now has international partners rushing to the Aussies aid.

Not all the help needed though is on the front lines.

Jennifer Myslivy from the Bureau of Land Management is one of thousands working to help fight bush fires across Australia. 

"Life is not normal here for folks, but they try to keep it as much as they can," Myslivy said though a video chat. "Were assisting Australians in suppressing these bush fires, we are working together side by side."

Myslivy usually works out of the BLM's Boise office, but until mid-February she is in eastern Australia working out of Orbost, Victoria.

"Our fire we are on is very complex, it's about 600,000 hectares or 2.1 million acres," Myslivy said.

The international effort to fight the fires takes a lot of coordination, Myslivy is helping on that front with her expertise as a public information officer. 

"A lot of coordination, a lot of communication with our partners to make sure the firefighters on the ground are doing their jobs safely as well as making sure that the public is safe and well informed on the fire situation," Myslivy said.

While there is some progress on the fires, some communities continue to battle with being cut off from resources.

"One of the major things is the roads, there are a lot of closed roads in the area that are actually putting some of the communities, in secluded locations, that aren't able to get basic necessities. So, we are working hard to make sure those roads are open in the near future," Myslivy said.

On top of the fires, the international community is also in mourning after an air tanker crashed while battling wildfires in New South Wales. Three Americans were killed.

"It definitely is a somber feeling. Fire communities are a very tight-knit communities, very close-knit family. We've all worked together side by side for many years," Myslivy said..

About 500 miles south of where the crash was, Myslivy and her colleagues planned to honor those lost.

"At nine o'clock this morning we're going to have a lowering off the flag in remembrance of the three fallen firefighters, so we will come together as one family," Myslivy said.

Myslivy says she expects to work in Australia through the middle of February before switching out with a new team and heading home to Idaho.

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