Australian jet airtanker arrives to fight US wildfires
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Australia has sent a jet airtanker to the United States to help fight wildfires.
Officials at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise say the Boeing 737 from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service arrived at the center last weekend.
The jet is being made available through an agreement between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Australia.
The airtanker has two internal tanks with a capacity of 4,000 gallons.
The center moved to national preparedness the highest level earlier this month, which means firefighting resources are stretched thin due to multiple large wildfires burning in the U.S. West.
