Next wave of Utah firefighters headed to battle California wildfires

Murray Fire Capt. Steve Olson shakes hands with West Valley Fire Chief John Evans outside of the Maverik Center in West Valley City on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019, before Olson left to help fight wildfires in California. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

SALT LAKE CITY — Crews from across the country are rushing to help provide relief to the thousands of firefighters battling on the front lines in California.

At least 10 crews from Utah are already fighting fires in the Golden State, and another 40 firefighters from various agencies left Tuesday to join the efforts. The crews from eight Utah departments will spend two weeks helping battle blazes in California.

“Utah has some great resources,” said Joe Dougherty, public information officer with the Utah Division of Emergency Management. “We have great firefighters. They are not only going to be helping a state in need, but they’re going to be gaining critical experience for being better wildland firefighters when they return.”

According to Utah Fire Info representatives, engines assigned to fight California wildfires are coming from the Ashley National Forest, the Uintah-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Provo, Lone Peak, North Logan, Smithfield, Eureka, Cedar City, Hurricane, Utah County, Draper and Bluffdale.

For some of those Utah firefighters, protecting people in California is personal.

“Last year, in the Paradise Fire, my uncle and my cousin both lost homes,” said Unified Fire Authority’s Ryan Love. “Going back to California, it really means a lot to me — to be able to help those people, the residents and also the firefighters.”

Among those who joined the group Tuesday is Unified Fire Authority’s Dominic Burchett, the younger brother of Draper Battalion Chief Matthew Burchett, who was killed last year while fighting the Mendocino Complex Fire in California.

It’s a relationship that serves as a somber reminder of the firefighters’ dedication and the dangers they will face when rushing to help.

And there’s plenty of need for help.

Thousands are under evacuation orders in California as multiple fires are raging.

The Kincade Fire is burning in Sonoma County in the northern part of the state, and it has already scorched tens of thousands of acres due to near-hurricane force winds. Those winds are expected to make firefighting efforts even harder and will lead to more power shutoffs in the state.

More than 2 million people are already impacted by those outages.

In Southern California, crews are continuing work on the fast-moving Getty Fire, which is burning in the hills of Los Angeles’ Bel Air neighborhood.

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