MONROE — Jeremy Stocker, a firefighter in Getchell, often rushes to help battle wildfires in Eastern Washington.
Over the years, he’s learned what to expect on the fire lines on the other side of the Cascade Range. He knows to take his time and understand the conditions before rushing in.
Yesterday, Stocker began a long journey to fight another kind of blaze.
“This is nothing any of us have ever seen. In the pictures I’ve seen it looks like Judgment Day down there,” said Stocker, a fire captain with Snohomish County Fire District 22.
Stocker, 24, left Wednesday as part of a strike team mustered to fight the raging fires chewing through Southern California.
The fires, fueled by the strong Santa Ana winds, have destroyed about 1,500 homes and forced the evacuation of about 560,000 people, according to some estimates. President Bush, who planned to visit the region today, declared a federal emergency for seven counties.
The shifting flames of 20 fires have burned across 700 square miles as of Wednesday, killing at least one person and prompting the biggest evacuation in California history, from north of Los Angeles, through San Diego to the Mexican border.
Authorities in California on Monday asked for 50 strike teams from other states to assist local fire and emergency crews overwhelmed by the destructive force of the fires.
Two teams from Washington were sent on Tuesday night. Three others left on Wednesday and another four were expected to leave overnight, said Bill McLaughlin, fire chief of Whatcom County Fire District 4 in Bellingham.
The caravan that set out from Monroe left in five fire engines and included four firefighters from Getchell, eight from Snohomish County Fire District 26 in Gold Bar and a captain with Fire District 3 in Monroe. They were joined by about 10 other firefighters from Whatcom County and Duvall in King County.
All are certified to fight wildland fires and have fought small wildfires in Snohomish County and larger fires in Eastern Washington. Often there are winds that fan the flames but the Santa Ana desert winds are like nothing they’ve encountered, Stocker said.
“It’s a whole new arena. It leaves you with this uncomfortable, nervous feeling. It’s just something we’re not used to,” he said. “The rules are still there. We need to be even more aware of the conditions.”
The strike team likely will spend about 20 hours on the road to reach Chino, Calif. They’ll be deployed from there to areas where they are needed most, said Gold Bar Fire Chief Eric Andrews, Snohomish County’s fire resource coordinator.
“We could be fighting structural fires or on the line or evacuating people,” Gold Bar Fire Lt. Wendy Enyart said. “We don’t know what to expect.”
Most of the firefighters are volunteers and many have taken a leave of absence from jobs to make the trip to California. The crews will be gone at least two weeks. They hope to provide much-needed relief to firefighters who have been on the lines for days.
“We spend a lot of time in Gold Bar helping out other departments. This is an extension of that,” said Gold Bar firefighter Carrie Schumacher. “I would hope they would do the same for us.”
Meanwhile the Snohomish County chapter of the American Red Cross has sent 16 volunteers to Southern California to provide relief to people forced to flee their homes
Corinne Lee, 47, of Bothell flew south Tuesday night. She said she could tell she was heading into a disaster before the plane touched down.
“One of the first weird things was when we were flying over L.A.,” she said. “You could see the smoke and smell it even on the airplane.”
Lee spent Tuesday night in a shelter for relief workers where about 600 people slept on cots spaced two feet apart, she said. About 300 women shared two showers. Volunteers in San Diego were given face masks in case smoke became thick, Lee said. Ash from the fires fell like a light snow throughout the city.
The Red Cross volunteers were welcomed with open arms and generosity, she said. Restaurants were dropping off meals and big pots of spaghetti.
“Everyone wants to help,” she said.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
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