PORT TOWNSEND — East Jefferson Fire-Rescue has deployed an engine company with four firefighters to assist in fighting the devastating fires in California.
The crew joined 35 other firefighters from Seattle Fire, King County Fire District 20, Duvall Fire, Eastside Fire & Rescue, Shoreline Fire, Snoqualmie Fire Department, Woodinville Fire and Valley Fire in forming Washington Strike Team 5, which departed for California on Saturday morning, said Bill Beezley, public information officer for East Jefferson Fire-Rescue (EJFR).
Nearly 9,000 firefighters were reported battling California wildfires, including the large Camp Fire that leveled the town of Paradise near Chico and the Woolsey Fire, which already has destroyed at least 375 homes across 91,572 acres as of Tuesday.
CBS News report that the death toll was 44 on Tuesday and was expected to rise.
Team 5 reached California on Sunday and was immediately assigned to Camarillo for the Woolsey Fire. There, team members are reinforcing the perimeter of the fire and extinguishing spot fires close to containment lines, while working 24-hour shifts.
Some 200,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders, threatened by the Woolsey fire.
Neither Clallam County Fire District 2 or Fire District 3 are deploying firefighters to California.
The deployment of EJFR firefighters came about through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which offers assistance during governor-declared states of emergency or disaster through a system which allows states to send personnel, equipment and commodities to assist with response and recovery efforts in other states.
EJFR Chief Jim Walkowski estimated costs for a 16-day deployment at $118,500, which includes expenses related to apparatus, personnel, overtime, shift staffing backfill overtime and lodging. Expenses will be reimbursed directly to the department by the State of California.
Walkowski said that the deployment not only allows the department to help in California but also provides training that would be useful in the event of a large fire in the department’s area of coverage.
EJFR covers Port Townsend, Cape George, Chimacum, Irondale, Kala Point, Marrowstone Island and Port Hadlock.
