East Jefferson Fire Rescue has deployed four certified wildland firefighters to help battle the Woolsey fire in California. The team left Nov. 9 and will be deployed for about 16 days.

“They took Engine 1-1, which is an engine out of our Chimacum Fire Station,” said Bill Beezley, East Jefferson Fire Rescue public information officer. “That is a structural engine. Our people are going to be doing both structural protection and wildland fire protection support. They will be protecting actual houses and doing some wildland work.”

The fire spans both Los Angeles and Ventura counties and had burned about 96,314 acres, destroyed about 435 structures and killed at least two civilians as of Nov. 13, the CalFire website stated. As of Nov. 13, the fire was only about 35 percent contained.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The Woolsey fire is one of several active wildfires burning in California. A second fire, the Camp fire to the north in Butte County, had consumed about 125,000 acres, destroyed more than 6,500 homes and more than 260 commercial buildings, and it had killed at least 42 civilians as of Nov. 13. That fire was about 30 percent contained at the start of the week and is now the deadliest and most destructive fire in modern California history, the L.A. Times reported.

Those deaths were centered around the former town of Paradise in Butte County, which was totally destroyed by the wildfire. More than 200 people remain unaccounted for, raising the possibility that more bodies will be recovered, the Los Angeles Times stated. Search crews and emergency workers are continuing to scour the town, which had a population of 27,000.

“During my nine years here, this is the first time we have sent people down to California,” Beezley said. “Clearly, (CalFire is) overwhelmed with the massive size of these fires.”

The four firefighters dispatched from Jefferson County are part of a Strike Team which consists of more than 3,200 firefighters split into more than 50 crews who are operating about 450 fire engines and about 40 water tenders, CalFire officials stated.

Beezley said there were no other firefighters he was aware of being dispatched from Jefferson County.

Due to extreme fire behavior, firefighting efforts have been focused on the protection of life and structures, CalFire officials stated, with crews continuing to be challenged by steep terrain and limited access.

“A lot of people who are coming in from out of state will be helping on the structural side because California has a pretty robust wildland unit,” Beezley said, explaining the firefighters from East Jefferson would be the line of defense between the inferno and homes or businesses.

That role is known as wildland/urban interface, and it’s necessary when houses are mixed with wilderness areas, Beezley said.

“We have a lot of that around here as soon as you head outside of Port Townsend,” he said. “So, they can help on the structural side as the fires get closer to the houses. All of those people are wildland-certified firefighters. A large number of our firefighters choose to receive additional training to become certified as wildland firefighters. We wouldn’t send them down there if they didn’t have that certification as well.”

Since the four deployed firefighters will be in harm’s way, it will be up to their leaders on the ground to ensure their safety, Beezley said.

“The strike teams are led by seasoned leaders,” he said. “These are people who have fought many wildland fires, and I think most of the leadership is going to be California natives. Clearly, these are enormous fires, but the process that you do when you are fighting fires is pretty consistent, and they’ve got very experienced people in charge of these strike teams.”