California Sends 10 Fire Engines to Idaho Blaze

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

California Sends 10 Fire Engines to Idaho Blaze

California OES sends two strike teams to Idaho

By: California OES
The Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES) has ordered fire crews from 10 Northern California and Sacramento-area fire departments to deploy tomorrow morning to the Castle Rock Fire in North Eastern Idaho at the request of the United States Forest Service.

The local crews will staff 10 OES fire engines and depart from Rocklin at 9 a.m. The teams will depart from a shopping center off Granite Dr.

"California is fortunate to have the resources available to fight wildfires within our borders while still helping our neighbors to the north," said OES Director Henry Renteria. "I'm certain that our firefighters will make a major difference in helping protect the homes and property of Idaho's residents."

The 10 engines are being deployed from the following fire departments: Yuba City Fire, Susanville Fire, Redding Fire, Butte County Fire, Tehema County Fire, So. Placer Fire Protection District (FPD), Consumnes Fire, Sacramento Metropolitan FPD, Woodbridge FPD, and Folsom Fire.

The Castle Rock Fire began on August 15 near Ketchum, Idaho. The blaze has burned more than 12,000 acres, is 6 percent contained, and is currently threatening 750 homes and 78 commercial buildings.

OES has a fleet of 110 engines statewide that are provided under agreement to local government fire departments for use in their daily operations and available to be deployed by OES at any time to major wild land fires or natural disasters.

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How fires get their names

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.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Tuesday, August 21, 2007