Central Coast fire agencies providing support to help battle Los Angeles fires

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - As several catastrophic fires continue burn throughout the Los Angeles area, Central Coast firefighting agencies are providing support in the massive response effort.

CAL FIRE San Luis Obispo County Fire Department has sent more than four dozens of its personnel, asw well as resources to Southern California.

"We sent over 50 personnel down to the fires in Los Angeles," said Ryan Grebe, CAL FIRE SLO County Fire Department public information officer. "We have two engine strike teams out, three hand crew strike teams, a dozer strike team, and various other personnel that are helping out in base camp with various jobs."

The Santa Maria Fire Department has sent two crews, along with two of its fire engines to Los Angeles to help out with the firefighting efforts.

"We have sent a total of two engines with a total of eight people to help the fires in Los Angeles County," said Brad Dandridge, Santa Maria Fire Chief. "Strike teams were requested from the county, and we were able to provide two of our engines to help support the fire suppression efforts."

Some of the other local agencies that are responding to the fires include Santa Barbara County Fire Department, Santa Barbara City Fire Department, San Luis Obispo City Fire Department, Atascadero Fire Department and Morro Bay Fire Department.

For the fire agencies sending resources to Los Angeles County, it's all part of the state's mutual aid support system that has been utilized for decades in fighting large-scale catastrophic events.

"Every agency in California is part of that mutual aid system," said Grebe. "When there's a big incident, that incident commander will place a resource order, and our Southern California geographical cooperation center will send those requests out to different counties, and those counties will fill that request and send the help needed to that incident." 

Even as the local fire departments send personnel and equipment out of the area, the agencies are able to adjust their staffing levels, helping ensure that service and response needs remain in place for their own coverage locations.

"When we do send resources out of the city, what we do is we fill we backfill with personnel that are off duty to come in to ensure that the services that we provide, first and foremost to our city and our residents of the city of Santa Maria are never diminished," said Dandridge.

"With the life threat and the fire behavior that's going on in Los Angeles, it's vital that we provide mutual aid," said Grebe. "They're having a difficult time with that firefigh, so given the weather we've had in San Luis Obispo County, we feel comfortable sending some resources down there, but we still have enough resources here to maintain operational readiness for San Luis Obispo County."