News - Whiskeytown team, Cal Fire aid Tahoe region

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Whiskeytown team, Cal Fire aid Tahoe region

By Tanya Roscorla (Contact)
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
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Lake Tahoe fire

UP IN FLAMES:

North state firefighters are helping hundreds of others attack a wildfire that has damaged more than 200 homes and burned about 2,500 acres west of South Lake Tahoe.

Four firefighters from Engine 2 of the National Park Service at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area were sent to the Angora Fire at 6 p.m. Sunday night along with four other engines on a U.S. Forest Service strike team, said Batallion Chief Mark Middy of the park service.

The Shasta-Trinity unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection also sent strike teams of five engines and two inmate crews, said Linda Galvan, a spokeswoman for Cal Fire. Each inmate crew is made up of 15 to 17 prison inmates who require minimum security and earn $1 per hour.

The Cal Fire unit has sent about 56 people to the Tahoe region, though not all of them went directly to the fire, Galvan said. The firefighters left at 4:30 p.m. Saturday to fight a fire in Susanville and then left for Tahoe.

Some of the engines went to the Amador-El Dorado area to cover for engines at the Tahoe fire and then left for the Tahoe area Monday, Galvan said. Her division of Cal Fire has 19 engines, 14 of which are still in its home area, Galvan said.

Firefighters assigned to a large fire can work up to 16 hours a day and rest for 8 hours, Middy said. But they sometimes have to work 24 hours during the first days of a fire. In that case, they usually get 12 hours to rest. About 560 workers currently are fighting the Angora Fire.

Firefighters can work on a big fire for up to 14 days, but can work up to 21 days if they receive special permission, Middy said.

The fire crews are on a rotation list for call-ups to big fires so that no one is fatigued and so that enough firefighters will be available to fight local fires, Middy said.

“That way, everyone gets some experience and gets a chance to go out on these longer assignments,” Middy said.

The Angora Fire is the first major fire of the season for the Whiskeytown team, Middy said. The team usually fights about three or four big fires in the Redding area each fire season, as well as 10 to 20 smaller local fires.

The park service keeps one of its two engines at home to protect the Redding area, especially because of the number of fires that generally start nearby, Middy said. He staffed a backup engine to cover Whiskeytown while Engine 2 is near Lake Tahoe.

For other information on the Angora Fire and fire-prevention tips, check out these sites and phone numbers:

• The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection: www.fire.ca.gov.

• The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office home damage estimate: www.co.el-dorado.ca.us/sheriff/index.asp.