Denver Fire Department sending crews to California in wake of devastating fires
The Denver Fire Department is the latest agency in Colorado to send fire crews to California to help battle the devastating wildfires that, as of Saturday morning, have killed 11 people and destroyed over 12,000 structures in the Los Angeles area.
DFD said it's sending two "Type 6" teams, equipped with pickup trucks meant to respond to rugged, rural areas. Those teams and equipment are part of the department's wildland firefighting unit.
"I've done several deployments on the engines with Denver Fire and a previous department but this one is unique because it is an assembled task force in Colorado and heading to California," Denver Fire Department Wildland Engine Boss Clint Maas said. "The drive will be approximately 18 hours to get to where we're going in Beaumont, California. We will reassemble with our task force and get our assignments from there."
Maas says the team could be gone for two to three weeks.
DFD joins several agencies from Colorado that boast considerable experience training for and responding to wildfires, including Aurora, Boulder, Castle Rock, Colorado Springs, Greeley, South Metro Fire Rescue, and West Metro Fire Rescue, that are sending crews to California. The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control is also sending a PC-12 aircraft outfitted with state-of-the-art infrared and color sensors to assist in mapping the fire and coordinating crews that are on the ground.
The Palisades Fire – the largest blaze – prompted evacuation orders and warnings for Los Angeles' Encino and Brentwood areas and the Eaton Fire, in northern Los Angeles County, has killed at least six people. Both fires are more contained as of Saturday morning, but many evacuation orders remain in place, CBS News reported.
Fire officials in California say those fires, along with the nearby Kenneth Fire, Hurst Fire, and Lidia Fire, have burned about 58 square miles, or 37,000 acres as of Saturday morning.
Colorado wasn't the first state to send firefighters to assist, as California typically leans on its immediate neighbors first. Crews from Nevada, Arizona, and Oregon can respond much more quickly, depending on the location of the fire.
The act of borrowing or lending firefighters from and to other states can be a delicate balancing act, as state fire officials and local fire departments need to weigh how many resources they can spare in the event that a fire were to start in those communities.
