The Everett Fire Department today sent a fire engine and a crew of four to California to help battle wildfires now burning in nine counties.
One hand crew of 20 firefighters made their way to California on Tuesday after being requested to help battle the blazes.
McDaniel says Washington received help from California firefighters during some of the fires this summer and they are glad to try and help in the effort.
As of Wednesday, over 120-thousand acres have been burned in Napa and Sonoma counties in northern California. “Fresh set of 10 engines roll in to relieve them; they’re going to be happy, and we’re going to be happy to help them out”.
Over the last few years, we’ve had a lot of incident management teams from California help us out. The team, which is traveling with four engines from Cowlitz County, could be gone for up to 18 days.
The teams are taking traditional fire engines and other specialized engines known as a type 3 apparatus. All four members have been with Fire District 3 ranging from 14 to 18 years, he said. “There’s obviously a lot of work to do down there”. “It’s not over”, said Jerry Brown, the state governor.
Caren Wheeler, district secretary for Benton Fire District 2, said that their crew was sure to take wildland firefighting equipment with them in case they were put out toward the front lines.
Lewis County Fire District 5 and Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority also tweeted they were sending crews to California.
