美国国家公共电台 NPR Western Fire Crews Get An Assist From Australia And New Zealand

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

All right, these big wildfires keep raging in Oregon and here in California. In southern Oregon, where temperatures are forecast to break 100 every day through Thursday, the Taylor Creek¹ Fire is the largest of several blazes. And in Northern California, the Carr Fire has been blamed for seven deaths. And the Ranch² and River fires have combined to form the Mendocino Complex Fire, which is now - get this - considered the largest in the history of California.

Firefighters, as you can imagine, are stretched to the breaking point across the region. Crews are getting help from the military. They also now have an international assist from Australia and New Zealand. Teams from those countries spent the weekend in Idaho training before being deployed³ to the West Coast. Matt Guilhem of Boise State Public Radio met some of the crews and sent this report.

MATT GUILHEM, BYLINE⁴: In a big field at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, training specialist Matt Skudlarek (ph) leads a practice involving personal fire shelters. Deploying⁵ one is a decision of absolute last resort when a fire is closing in.

MARK SKUDLAREK: All right, you've made that decision. Let's go for it. Drop those packs. Drop those packs.

GUILHEM: The firefighters hustle⁶ down the field, only to drop and wrap themselves in what looks like a cross between a bright orange tarp and a sleeping bag. For most, it's the first time using a shelter. While standard issue here, they're uncommon⁷ in Australia and New Zealand. Peter McKechnie is the liaison⁸ between the two South Pacific nations and the U.S. He says the personnel that have travelled halfway⁹ around the world aren't the rank and file.

PETER MCKECHNIE: They're all supervisory in some ways. There's people looking after helicopters, people looking after crews. So it is a mix in terms of the skills that have come across.

GUILHEM: McKechnie says the firefighting partnership¹⁰ between Australia, the U.S. and New Zealand dates back more than 50 years. He says ties are strong between the three nations and that the U.S. has answered the other countries' calls for assistance in the past.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Much better...

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Unintelligible) small, I think.

GUILHEM: At a big warehouse¹¹ across the base, another group of firefighters are getting gear in what looks like a buffet¹² line of equipment. Taking in the scene is Chris Eagle, the liaison officer from the Melbourne area. He says fighting fires Down Under is similar to here, but there are some differences. Take the terminology¹³.

CHRIS EAGLE: We were laughing because if we ask for a tanker¹⁴ at home, we get a truck with wheels on it. If you ask for a tanker in America, you'll get an airplane to drop water on top of you. So it's things like that that, if don't know those little things, it gets a bit embarrassing when you get the wrong thing that you didn't think were coming.

GUILHEM: Nearby, rolling up an olive drab mat into his gear, is Dan McAndrew. He's going to be a strike team leader, overseeing a group of U.S. firefighters.

DAN MCANDREW: I want to get into it - ready to get out there and do what we can. Hopefully help local guys, give them a bit of a break - they've been going for quite some weeks now. So...

GUILHEM: Whether he goes to Oregon or California, he'll be relieving people who need it. Crouched¹⁵ down by McAndrew, stuffing things into her pack, is Tamsyne Harlen from the small Australian town of Bega.

TAMSYNE HARLEN: Its famous for cheese and Vegemite.

GUILHEM: An aviation expert, it's Harlen's first time fighting fires in the U.S.

HARLEN: At this stage, it's a lot of - what are we doing, and where are we going? I'm looking forward to just getting out there and really getting the job done and seeing how we can help you guys.

GUILHEM: She has questions, but she's animated¹⁶ by the same eagerness as the rest of the group to ship out. One thing she's well aware of is the danger, but she doesn't focus on that because it won't help her do the job. She falls back on her decade of training from back home and her crash course this weekend in Idaho.

For NPR News, I'm Matt Guilhem in Boise.

(SOUNDBITE OF FAIT'S "HALCYON")

1 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

2 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

3 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 deploying   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
• Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。

6 hustle   

v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌)

参考例句：

• It seems that he enjoys the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.看起来他似乎很喜欢大城市的热闹繁忙的生活。
• I had to hustle through the crowded street.我不得不挤过拥挤的街道。

7 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

8 liaison   

n.联系，（未婚男女间的）暖昧关系，私通

参考例句：

• She acts as a liaison between patients and staff.她在病人与医护人员间充当沟通的桥梁。
• She is responsible for liaison with researchers at other universities.她负责与其他大学的研究人员联系。

9 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

10 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

11 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

12 buffet   

n.自助餐；饮食柜台；餐台

参考例句：

• Are you having a sit-down meal or a buffet at the wedding?你想在婚礼中摆桌宴还是搞自助餐？
• Could you tell me what specialties you have for the buffet?你能告诉我你们的自助餐有什么特色菜吗？

13 terminology   

n.术语；专有名词

参考例句：

• He particularly criticized the terminology in the document.他特别批评了文件中使用的术语。
• The article uses rather specialized musical terminology.这篇文章用了相当专业的音乐术语。

14 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

15 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

16 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。