Local Firefighters Joined by Washington State Counterparts
"Walla Walla Engine 51," Snohomish Engine 68" and "Vancouver Engine 8" - Not exactly what you'd expect to see on a fire engine roaming the Fourth District desert.
But see them you might over the next few days, as the "Master Mutual Aid System" provides firefighting backup in Southern California in anticipation of another spate of Santa Ana wind conditions.
A total of 4 "engine strike teams" have been placed in the Riverside County from Washington State, and they are strategically placed throughout the County. Each strike team consists of 5 fire engines and a leader, and each engine has 4 personnel on board. These strike teams are located in the Coachella Valley, Temecula, Moreno Valley, and Lake Elsinore area.
"We also have several other out of state resources staged in different areas of Southern California in preparation for the forecasted winds this weekend," said CAL FIRE Deputy Chief Ignacio Otero. "All of these out-of-state resources were deployed under the Master Mutual Aid System, and FEMA is funding this deployment.
"When our Governor declared a State of Emergency and requested a Presidential Declaration-- which was approved by President Bush-those actions allowed federal assistance," he said. "This is the first time in my career that we have had this type of response from the federal government to a fire siege.
"We expect the engines to remain in the valley throughout the weekend, unless we have fire activity in other parts of the County."
The engines are assigned to stations in Palm Desert, Indio, La Quinta and Coachella. They will be responding hand in hand with Riverside County fire personnel to incidents throughout the valley. The mixing of cultures will offer the out-if-state firefighters exposure to the extreme fire conditions of Southern California, and should benefit both the locals and the visiting firefighers.
###
Washington State Firefighter Logo