UCFD sends crews to California blaze
Published 12:05 pm Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Firefighters from Umatilla County are in California, helping battle a blaze that has been called one of the most destructive in state history.
Three UCFD personnel were dispatched to Chico last weekend. Battalion Chief Ed Clark and firefighters Jessie Brown and Chance Mikaelsen were assigned to the Camp Fire, which, as of Monday, had burned more than 113,000 acres, 6,400 homes, and killed 29 people. It is the largest of three major fires currently burning in California. As of Monday, it was 25 percent contained.
The cause of the Camp Fire, in Butte County, has not yet been identified.
UCFD Battalion Chief Corey Gorham said the UCFD crew was assigned to 24-hour on, 24-hour off shifts, and that they are working with a task force that includes Central Oregon and Union County crews. Gorham said whenever a major fire occurs, the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office sends out requests to local departments, who determine which of their personnel can go assist. Gorham said firefighters have to be able to commit to a 14-day assignment, which limits the number of people who can go. Those who have assisted at other out-of-state fires recently are at the bottom of the list.
Gorham said UCFD sent firefighters to California around this time last year for other wildfires, but that was the only other time he could recall sending personnel out of state.
The firefighters are compensated overtime for their out-of-state service.
Another massive wildfire burning in the state, the Wollsey Fire near Ventura, has scorched more than 91,500 acres since Thursday, and killed two people. Firefighters are working to contain several smaller blazes around the state as well.