‘Smoke and sweat and grit’: California fire crews battle on
REDDING, Calif. – Cliff Allen knows all too well the challenges facing crews battling more than a dozen insatiable wildfires roaring across California that have claimed the lives of four firefighters in less than three weeks.
More than 10,000 firefighters are committed to a monthslong assault on blazes fueled by dried vegetation, intense heat, strong winds and even “firenadoes.” Allen, president of Sacramento-based Cal Fire Local 2881, has battled fires like these for 30 years.
“This is extremely dangerous work,” Allen told USA TODAY. “You are talking about 16-hour, maybe 24-hour shifts in areas where the temperature is more than 100 degrees without fire. Add to that the radiant heat from the fire.
“It’s all about smoke and sweat and grit.”
Firefighters from 16 states, as farflung as Maine and Florida, are at work. The state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, reported promising headway Tuesday on the most devastating of the blazes: the Carr Fire in and around this city of 92,000.
The death toll here is six, including two firefighters. More than 170 square miles have burned and almost 900 homes have been destroyed, which makes this the seventh-most destructive fire in state history.
Incident Commander Bret Gouvea, who has called the fire a “monster,” said more than 10,000 people were allowed to return to their homes Monday and Tuesday. Still, many thousands more remained evacuated. And the fire was only 27 percent contained, eight days after a misfiring vehicle ignited the blaze.
“We’re turning the corner. I hate saying those things (because) this thing has made me a liar so many times,” he said.
“Twin” wildfires are threatening 10,000 homes in counties 100 miles southwest of Redding. And parts of Yosemite National Park remain closed as firefighters battle a blaze there.
No rain is forecast until at least next week. High temperatures are expected to exceed 100 degrees for days. The heat pushes air up, sometimes dragging fire with it – a firenado.
Allen says crews prepare for the long haul.
The twin fires in Mendocino and Lake Counties had burned more than 100 square miles and were only 10 percent contained, Cal Fire said Tuesday. Seven homes were destroyed and thousands have been warned to evacuate.