Published: Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Snohomish County firefighters head out to California blazes
MONROE — A dozen Snohomish County firefighters are leaving today to join the battle against raging wildfires in southern California.
A team that includes Snohomish County Fire District 22 in Getchell and Fire District 26 in Gold Bar is driving down along with crews from Duvall and Bellingham to assist California firefighters. They are headed to Chino, Calif., where they will be given their assignments, said Gold Bar Fire Chief Eric Andrews, the county’s fire resource coordinator.
Two teams from Washington left last night. Three will leave today and another four are expected to leave tomorrow.
All the crews are trained to fight wildfires and often are called to help fire departments in eastern Washington when wildfires break out.
"We’ve never seen anything like this in Washington state. We don’t know what to expect," said Gold Bar Fire Lt. Wendy Enyart.
The crews are made up of volunteers or part-time firefighters and many are taking leave from their full-time jobs to help fight the fires in California. It’s expected to take up to 20 hours to reach Chino. The crews have signed on for a minimum of two weeks.
The unrelenting wildfires have destroyed nearly 2,000 homes and forced the evacuation of 560,000 people.
More than a dozen volunteers from the Snohomish County chapter of the American Red Cross also are expected to assist in relief efforts.
A team that includes Snohomish County Fire District 22 in Getchell and Fire District 26 in Gold Bar is driving down along with crews from Duvall and Bellingham to assist California firefighters. They are headed to Chino, Calif., where they will be given their assignments, said Gold Bar Fire Chief Eric Andrews, the county’s fire resource coordinator.
Two teams from Washington left last night. Three will leave today and another four are expected to leave tomorrow.
All the crews are trained to fight wildfires and often are called to help fire departments in eastern Washington when wildfires break out.
"We’ve never seen anything like this in Washington state. We don’t know what to expect," said Gold Bar Fire Lt. Wendy Enyart.
The crews are made up of volunteers or part-time firefighters and many are taking leave from their full-time jobs to help fight the fires in California. It’s expected to take up to 20 hours to reach Chino. The crews have signed on for a minimum of two weeks.
The unrelenting wildfires have destroyed nearly 2,000 homes and forced the evacuation of 560,000 people.
More than a dozen volunteers from the Snohomish County chapter of the American Red Cross also are expected to assist in relief efforts.
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