When North Kitsap Fire and Rescue Lt. Alex Hickey looked west Wednesday afternoon from a hill outside Los Angeles, he saw the Pacific Ocean and blue skies. When he looked north he saw a haze.
Hickey, of Poulsbo, and a strike team of 19 other local firefighters left Saturday morning to join the more than 3,600 firefighters battling the Woolsey Fire, which over six days has burned nearly 100,000 acres, destroyed nearly 500 residences, killed two residents and injured three firefighters, according to figures posted Wednesday by CalFire. The Woolsey Fire is one of three major fires burning right now in California.
Hickey said none of the local firefighters had been injured and morale is high.
“Everybody has been happy to see us,” Hickey said. “And pretty shocked when they hear we are from quite a ways away.”
He said the team has seen mass destruction, and then areas that were apparently spared by the blaze.
“We would see huge houses leveled, then huge houses standing untouched,” he said.
Included in the strike team are five engines and firefighters from Bremerton, South Kitsap, Central Kitsap, North Kitsap and Gig Harbor departments.
The crew is working in an area off the Pacific Coast Highway between Malibu and Camarillo. They have been patrolling neighborhoods looking for “hot spots,” making sure fires stay extinguished.
“We are trying to do due diligence, make sure there are no spot fires around houses,” he said.
HOW TO HELP: Northwest Response - California Wildfires
The group arrived Sunday morning after driving the trucks from the Puget Sound area to Southern California, a 24-hour trip Hickey described as an “adventure,” saying the trucks are not designed for road trips.
“We tried to take adequate rest breaks and let everyone stretch out, and then we kept plugging along,” he said.
The firefighters work 24 hours on, 24 hours off. During the off periods, they gather at a camp for firefighters, where they receive cell phone service so they can call home.
Recent reports say the blaze is nearly half contained, and Hickey said he heard forecasts that conditions are improving, but he said the team is still planning to be in the area for two weeks.