MANSFIELD, Wash — Coronavirus is impacting the food firefighters are eating while working to put out wildfires in eastern Washington.
A post on social media shows firefighters working to put out the Road 11 fire in Mansfield, Washington are eating food that looks less than appetizing.
A Facebook post from the Southeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team said some crews are eating ‘Meals Ready to Eat’ or MREs. Soldiers in the military often eat them. The post said the meals are self-heating and you just have to add water. They come with a spork and hand wipes.
Crews often have to eat meals like this when they’re in rural areas where it can be hard to get food to the scene. While firefighters wait, they are supposed to bring their own food, the post says.
Crews at the Road 11 fire now have hot meals being served thanks to their logistics team. They said they shared the picture of the food to give people an idea of what firefighters have to eat while things are getting set up.
According to the team, community members often offer to make them meals but cooking for 300 people takes a while to set up. They said it’s even harder now due to new coronavirus rules.
The team said if you'd like to help firefighters they would typically direct donations to the local Red Cross unite on site or in the area. There isn't currently one set up for the Road 11 fire.
They said they are getting ready to transition back to the local fire districts Wednesday morning and their food needs are taken care of for the remainder of their time in the area.
