Thick smoke from the Kincade fire partially obscures the sun as it rises over trees along Chalk Hill Road near Healdsburg, Calif. on Sunday morning, Oct. 27, 2019.
Firefighters from 31 Washington state fire districts, including four in Thurston County and one in Lewis, have been dispatched to help fight California wildfires, according to the Washington's Emergency Management Division.
Teams started driving down to California Monday morning and are all based at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, according to Karina Shagren, communications director for the Washington Military Department.
Washington has dispatched 35 fire engines, nine command vehicles, and approximately 110 firefighters, according to the state's Emergency Management Division. The deployment is scheduled to end Nov. 11.
The Kincade Fire, which began in Sonoma County Oct. 23, had spread to more than 75,400 acres and was 15 percent contained Tuesday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's website. The San Francisco Chronicle reports 124 structures have been destroyed by the fire so far.
A Los Angeles Times map Tuesday showed a total of 12 California fires, half of which were at least 75 percent contained.
Chief Steve Brooks with Lacey Fire District 3 said 15 to 20 staff members from five firefighting units in Thurston and Lewis counties make up a "strike team" from the state's central region that's been deployed.
Lacey Fire District 3 sent three people, Brooks confirmed. Chief Mark King wrote that Southeast Thurston Fire Authority sent two firefighters and one captain, and McLane Black Lake Fire Department sent three firefighters and a captain along with Chief Steve North, according to administrative assistant Michelle Meeds. Chief Russ Kaleiwahea wrote in an email to The Olympian that West Thurston Fire Authority sent two career firefighters and one volunteer firefighter.
Lewis County Fire Protection District 5 sent two firefighters, according to Chief Dan Mahoney.
"We're just wishing and hoping everybody stays safe down there," Mahoney told The Olympian.
All of the local departments also sent fire engines or other vehicles to assist in the effort, according to mobilization documents The Olympian obtained from the state.
This isn't the first time Washington has sent resources to help fight California fires. Military Department communications director Shagren said the state deployed firefighters to California in 2017 and 2018.
When a state needs resources like this, Shagren said, it will push out a request through an interstate mutual aid agreement called the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. If other states are able, they respond to the request and the requesting state decides whether to accept.
Local jurisdictions that offer up resources for deployment get reimbursed for their costs, Shagren said. Chief King with Southeast Thurston told The Olympian the cost of paying overtime to other firefighters who fill in, if needed, is included among the costs reimbursed.
"We're just seeing natural disasters becoming a little more catastrophic, which means states have to turn to outside resources for assistance" Shagren said.
