Boise woman joins the firefight in Australia, talks about fallen crew

BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — A lot of Americans have joined the fight to save Australia's wild lands, including Jennifer Myslivy, whose regular job is with the National Inter-agency Fire Center in Boise.

Myslivy is a public information officer with the rocky basin incident management team.

She's from Boise and went down to Australia to help.

According to the Bureau of Land Management, fire conditions in the outback are extreme because of extended drought, high temperatures, and low humidity.

Myslivy said the biggest challenge is, "The terminology and understanding how that process is and in the beginning, but I feel like we're past that and we're building those relationships to have a better understanding."

She said Thursday's crash of the C-130 Hercules aerial water tanker, and the death of its three-man crew, has brought further emotional strain to her and her team.

Back at base, they lowered their flags to half staff to honor the fallen.

Myslivy said she's heartbroken for the American families of the crew.

But she said every life lost in the fires, regardless of nationality, is a tragedy.