Lewis County Fire District 5 firefighters in Napavine have had plenty of experience responding to wildfires across the county, and in many ways, the Los Angeles Fires were not so different from fires fought nearly every summer in Eastern Washington and Oregon.
The devastation caused by the Los Angeles Fires, however, was unique.
“The amount of structures that burned is just unreal. It’s hard to put into (words), even. I took pictures of it too, and even pictures don’t do it justice,” said District 5 Captain Brad Bozarth, one of the three District 5 firefighters who were deployed to California with the Central Region Strike Team in January.
The team was one of two deployed by the Washington state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on Jan. 9 after California requested mutual aid through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) after a series of fast-moving wildfires broke out in the Los Angeles area on Jan. 7.
Other aid sent from Washington state included nine task forces coordinated through the state’s Emergency Management Division, for a combined total of approximately 55 engines, 11 trucks and 181 personnel.
In total, CAL FIRE estimates that over 51,000 emergency personnel responded to the fires, including crews from Washington, Oregon, Montana, Texas and New Mexico.
As of Monday afternoon, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) estimated that the fires burned a total of 57,660 acres, killed 29 people and destroyed 16,246 structures.
The fires were 100% contained as of Monday afternoon.
“Once any area gets to a point that they’re overwhelmed and they don’t have enough manpower, apparatus, whatever it might be, they’ll send out a request for any agency that’s available, really,” Bozarth said during a public question and answer session on Feb. 8, where he answered questions from the community about District 5’s experience working the Los Angeles Fires.
While the Los Angeles area was the farthest away from home District 5 has been deployed, Napavine firefighters have been doing mutual aid deployments across the country for over 20 years as part of annual state and federal contracts with DNR and EMAC.
“It’s contracts we do months in advance, before the fire season … It’s all spelled out before we even leave,” Bozarth said.
The contracts cover how long crews can be deployed and compensation rates for crew time, overtime for backfill crews at home, fuel costs and equipment maintenance.
For every fire District 5 responds to as part of a state or federal contract, District 5 is compensated for all of the expenses it accrued due to the deployment and receives additional payment that goes into the general fund.
District 5 interim Chief Gregg Peterson estimates that District 5 made $50,000 responding to the Los Angeles Fires.
“They pay for all the personnel and the fuel and everything, and then they write us a check for the truck itself, too,” Bozarth said.
Bozarth and District 5 firefighters Asa Ingle and Connor Tardiff departed Napavine on Jan. 9 and joined with the rest of the Central Region Strike Team, which included crews from the West Thurston Regional Fire Authority, McLane Black Lake Fire Department, Central Mason Fire Department and Hoquiam Fire Department.
The tram arrived in California on Jan. 10, where the District 5’s 2,500-gallon combination engine tender underwent a brief vehicle inspection before reporting to Davis, California, for assignment.
“They’re not checking them for emissions. They’re checking the steering on it, the brakes, all the running great on that, and they’re making sure we don’t have any major leaks, anything like that,” Bozarth said of the vehicle inspections, adding that the inspections are “nothing new.”
“The biggest reason they do that, one, is to make sure the trucks are safe,” Bozarth said, “ … But, from that point on, once we clear that (inspection), if something breaks on that truck, the District 5 taxpayers aren’t responsible for it. The State of California, or whatever state we’re going into, pays for it. That's why they inspect when we get to the state and when we leave the state.”
A couple Oregon trucks were stopped briefly for brake issues, Bozarth said, but contrary to rumors being spread online, no vehicles were turned around for emissions-related reasons.
Once District 5’s engine cleared inspection, the crew got about five hours of sleep before they were set to work structure protection in the Malibu area, which was being threatened by the Palisades Fire.
“There’s a lot of work that goes into these communities before the fire even gets there,” Bozarth said.
Structure preparation includes removing any fire hazards on a property, such as vegetation, lawn chairs and firewood, away from structures to help reduce the risk of the structure catching fire.
“That’s 100% up to the property owner. They can say ‘No, stay off my property,’ and we’ll stay off their property. It’s always their choice,” Bozarth said.
The speed at which the Palisades Fire was spreading meant that District 5 had to work quickly and evaluate which homes would need more work to stand on their own than others.
“A fire starts in Centralia, you’re not worried about that in Napavine. Well, when the fire’s moving at 100 miles (an hour), it’s in Napavine in just a couple minutes. And that’s what happened in those communities down there. That’s why there’s so many deaths … when fire’s coming that fast, you run out of options really fast,” Bozarth said.
While he gave the disclaimer that he’s “not a big California guy,” Bozarth commended the Los Angeles Fire Department and other California fire departments for their work on the fires. “They’re doing an excellent job with what they’re doing down there, as far as the fire response,” he said.
Of the issue where firefighters ran out of water to fight the fires, Bozarth said, “I’m telling you, if you set 10,000 homes on fire and hook up 200 trucks to the fire hydrant, there’s not a city in the world that can handle that kind of fire flow.”
The amount of water being deposited onto homes and being released due to melted pipes led to landslides, causing devastation to homes that were technically safe from the fires.
“Take with a grain of salt what you hear on social media, because I’m telling you right now, if Napavine caught on fire, we would not have the water flow to put it down. It’s just unattainable,” Bozarth said.
The Central Region Strike Team was on the line for 14 days before returning home Jan. 25.
Like all of its state and federal deployments, the experience was a valuable training experience for Napavine firefighters, Bozarth said.
“When we come home after doing that, you know, we have a one, two or five acre fire here, it’s very manageable for us because we have so much experience on those larger fires.”
The revenue District 5 takes in from the deployments, as well as grant programs District 5 qualifies for due to its contracts with DNR and EMAC, also help District 5 maintain and replace its regular equipment, saving taxpayers money in the long run.
“Honestly, that’s why District 5 has three brush trucks that are equipped, is because of the funding from these programs,” Peterson said.
