Members of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department are among the more than 7,500 emergency personnel fighting the Los Angeles County fires. NBC 7’s Omari Fleming spoke with a local fire official about their mission.
San Diego fire crews have deployed resources to help in the firefight against several major wildfires in the Los Angeles area that have destroyed hundreds of homes, forced thousands to evacuate and killed at least five people.
Aid includes resources from the county and several local cities as well as federal resources based in San Diego. In total, 15 apparatuses containing members from various local teams have been sent, the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said.
The SDFD has deployed three of those apparatus along with personnel, SDFD Assistant Fire Chief of Operations Dan Eddy said. A few specialized firefighters have also been sent, including a logistical crew member and a GIS mapping expert who can map the fire zone's burn area and aid with predictions.
SDFD spokesperson Mónica Muñoz said their strike team made up of crews from Poway Fire, Chula Vista Fire, Carlsbad Fire, SDFD and National City Fire.
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The Chula Vista Fire Department said they have deployed 27 personnel and eight fire apparatus to assist. CVFD also said they have staffed the city with an additional fire engine and six personnel "to ensure we are prepared to protect our citizens during this high fire risk wind event."
Cal Fire is also utilizing San Diego area crews, although Capt. Robert Johnson, the agency's local leader, said it is not affecting San Diego County's up-staffed resources.
"We still have resources in San Diego County from outside of the county, from Fresno. We have equipment from the Madera area and we pre-position those resources in preparation in the event that there is a fire in the county," Johnson said.
Crews are working nonstop during this wind event to ensure San Diego County has the resources needed to respond to any fires that start amid the red flag warning.
"The firefighters and the fire crews days off have been canceled this allows us extra personnel we can use those personnel to staff additional pieces of equipment that we normally wouldn’t have staffed on a normal day," Johnson said.
Wildfires in SoCal
Federally, the White House has directed the U.S. Navy to aid in the firefight. The U.S. Navy will deploy 10 water-dropping helicopters from San Diego.
The federal government has also authorized the use of six U.S. Forest Service air tankers, 10 federal firefighting helicopters, dozens of U.S. Forest Service firefighters and two air support units from the National Guard.
San Diego's Humane Society has also sent four staff members to help the Pasadena Humane Society evacuate pets from the wildfire zones. The SDHS expects their team to return with around 20 dogs who will be placed up for adoption in San Diego to free up space at their sister shelter.
"Our shelter staff also packed crates and kennels to donate to Pasadena Humane to assist with their evacuation efforts," the SDHS said.
