Saturday, May 12, 2007

O.C. firefighters join fight against Catalina blaze

Article - News - O.C. firefighters join fight against Catalina blaze:

O.C. firefighters join fight against Catalina blaze

21 firefighters and five engines from the Orange County Fire Authority were sent to the island Thursday afternoon.

By SALVADOR HERNANDEZ

The Orange County Register

Twenty-one firefighters and five fire engines from Orange County were packed into a military hovercraft Thursday afternoon and sent to help fight the 4,000-acre fire burning in Santa Catalina Island.

The Orange County crew, which will be assisting firefighters from Los Angeles County, includes two battalion chiefs, seven captains, one bulldozer operator, one firefighter to assist the bulldozer operator (called a swamper), five engineers and five general firefighters, said Capt. Steve Miller of the Orange County Fire Authority.

Two of the captains from the crew were from the OCFA's helicopter unit of special operations, he said.

The military hovercraft from Camp Pendleton started making its way through the water at 4:22 p.m.

The five brush engines came from OCFA stations in San Juan Capistrano, Silverado Canyon, Dana Point, Lake Forest and Aliso Viejo, Miller said.

The two battalion chiefs in the crew came from stations in Rancho Santa Margarita and Laguna Woods.

While assisting at the blaze, the Orange County firefighters will be under the command of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Miller said.

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Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

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Saturday, May 12, 2007