SENDING REINFORCEMENTS
Multiple massive wildfires tore across the Los Angeles area with devastating force this week, and among the firefighters battling the flames and braving the smoke are some of the Eastern Sierra’s own.
Mammoth Fire has deployed two of its nine engines and a chief officer to Southern California to assist with the firefighting effort, Fire Chief Ales (pronounced Al-esh) Tomaier said.
The Sheet spoke with Tomaier around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. At that time, while a significant number of personnel were in Southern California, the Mammoth station remained fully staffed, and Tomaier did not anticipate any negative impacts on public safety in Mammoth.
“We obviously have a very close relationship with Southern California, so we’re very eager to go out and help support friends and family down south,” Tomaier said. “We’ve talked to a couple people that have family members that have lost homes, so this is serving our community as far as we’re concerned.”
Mammoth personnel were specifically deployed to fight the Hurst Fire in the Sylmar neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley.
The Hurst Fire was first reported around 10:10 p.m. Tuesday, with CBS News noting that California Highway Patrol officers observed an entire mountainside engulfed in flames. By Wednesday morning, the fire had expanded to 500 acres, forcing the evacuation of more than 3,000 residents.
While Tomaier says wildfire risk in Mammoth is currently low, the town is still responding to numerous medical calls, which are common during this busy visitation season.
“It’s a good time for us to be assisting down south.” he said.
The Inyo National Forest also sent a Bureau of Land Management engine with five firefighters from the Topaz station, according to the agency’s Public Information Officer, Lisa Cox. This crew includes three firefighters from the Bishop BLM unit and two from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
California’s Fire Service and Rescue Emergency Mutual Aid Plan is designed to facilitate such assistance, as no single municipality has enough resources to combat large fires independently. Fire departments rely on each other to help as needed.
“The benefit of that [system] is that our firefighters gain experience while they’re down there so they can better serve our communities,” Tomaier said.
Determining which Mammoth firefighters are sent to assist involves a rotation based on availability. The standard assignment lasts 14 days, which can be challenging for part-time volunteer firefighters to commit to. Mammoth Fire has only four full-time firefighters and approximately 40 volunteer part-timers.
“Some of them have to make accommodations with their current employers,” Tomaier said. “They’re saying that, actually, because things have slowed down a little bit [since last week], this worked out for them.”
According to Tomaier, the strain for resources always lies in firefighters, not equipment, as these emergency situations do not stretch the station’s resources.
The wildfires in Los Angeles, which quickly gained national attention, were exacerbated by warmer-than-average temperatures, dry winds, and a lack of rain, as reported by the Associated Press. Southern California hasn’t seen more than 0.1 inches (0.25 centimeters) of rain since early May.
Mammoth Fire has been able to somewhat anticipate wildfire risks by working with California’s Office of Emergency Services, which identified particularly dangerous conditions. However, Tomaier noted that the extent of the fires has surprised many.
By early Wednesday, winds reached 80 mph (129 kph), with predictions of up to 100 mph (160 kph) in the mountains and foothills, according to reports by the National Weather Service.
