When the four East Jefferson Fire Rescue personnel dispatched to fight the Woolsey fire arrived in California, they immediately set to work to help their overwhelmed counterparts in any way they could, be it fighting fires or filling in for emergency calls.

When the team left, the Woolsey fire burning in Los Angeles and Ventura counties was one of several active fires in California. But it had died down when they arrived.

“The fire had already blown through,” said Curtis Sanders, a wildland certified firefighter/emergency medical technician who was on the team. “We were in staging, so the Los Angeles County Fire Department could go back home and take care of their districts. We were kind of just extra resources in case they needed something. If the fire got worse, or jumped the highway, we were right there to help out. If there was another fire that popped up, we would be going to that.”

Sanders, Steve Steele, Jeff Woods and Jacob Kinney returned home to Jefferson County after they were dispatched Nov. 9. They manned Engine 1-1, which is based at the Chimacum Fire Station.

Before being fully contained on Nov. 21, the fire burned nearly 100,000 acres, destroyed about 1,500 structures and killed three civilians as of Nov. 13, the CalFire website stated.

Bill Beezley, East Jefferson Fire Rescue public information officer, said the experience the team gained was invaluable.

“All of the firefighters expressed appreciation for the opportunity to be a small part in a huge effort to help the devastated communities in California,” he said. “The firefighters we deployed there brought back valuable experience as part of an enormous and very organized incident management team.”

The IMT structure is used across the United States in response to a variety of catastrophes such as wildfires, earthquakes, tornadoes and tsunamis, Beezley said.

“Our firefighters will be able to share best practices and learning opportunities with their peers in Jefferson County in the event we find ourselves responding to a disaster here,” he said.

Steele, a firefighter/paramedic, said his group observed the manner in which their counterparts battled the blaze, something that may become useful in Jefferson County if a similar fire ever sparks here.

We got “to see fires in that kind of environment that could come up here if we ever got as dry,” he said.

Lending a helping hand

When the team arrived, stationed near Thousand Oaks, it initially was tasked with mopping up hot spots if needed, Sanders said.

“The first 24 hours were mop-up and structure protection,” he said. “We were on the tail end of the fire. They had a hand crew working up in the hills, and if they needed any source of water or help clearing up some hot spots, we would clear that up for them. We only had a couple of hot spots we had to clean up.”

The crew performed that task for the first couple of days.

“For us, we wanted to get an assignment to go do some work, but it just wasn’t happening,” Sanders said. “The Santa Anas (winds) were lightening up, the winds were going away. The ocean breeze was kicking in and pushing the fire back towards itself. It was pushing back into the black, the already-burned area. The fire just burned itself out at that point, and the other crews were still working to mop up.”

Because the fire was being managed well, the team was released and began to head home. But when they reached the Sacramento area, CalFire assigned them to a station west of Lake Tahoe, where conditions were ripe for a wildfire.

“They had that red flag warning in that area, so CalFire reattached us and assigned us to one of their stations,” Sanders said. “East Jefferson was up at Dewdrop Fire Station. We were there for any kind of wildland fire if it happened, or if they had an EMS call and needed extra help.”

Sanders said the crew was there about three days before returning home because no wildfire ignited.

“It was a good experience,” he said. “They were kind of tapped for resources, and we were just luckily able to help out and step in.”