Firefighters in California got a little help from Mother Nature on Wednesday. The much needed rain aiding in taming the wildfire in Jute County where crews have been working at a fevers pace since the fire first erupted.
Fire engines were arriving every few minutes from the front lines at Cal Fire’s base camp in Chico where they battle the Camp Fire, which sparked Nov. 8.
Doug Ross, a captain with the Sacramento Fire Department, said his crew has been working nonstop for the past 12 days.
When asked how do they do it, Ross gave this explanation.
“A lot of it is adrenaline,” Ross said. “Just knowing that we are physically doing something while you are doing stuff and knowing that you are helping. It’s easier to stay awake.”
Cal Fire spokesman Kevin Tidwell said, “The rain is definitely a help to bring some moisture to the area, bring some moisture to those areas that haven’t seen rain in over 200 days.”
When fire crews return to base camp, they sleep in mobile trailers. And when they wake up, there is a massive amount of people to feed and thousands of meals to prepare. Jesse McGuire, a food unit leader for Cal Fire, said 78,400 meals have been prepared so far.
“That’s about 5,000 for breakfast, high dinner numbers are in the 2,500 range,” McGuire said.
A total of more than 3,700 people are supporting the fire fight from base camp, and that includes a crew from the California Conservation Corps. They have been unraveling what seemed like miles of hose lines.
“We had about 1 million feet I believe,” Cal Fire logistics officer Bob Hunt said.
Over 1,300 firefighters were sent home from base camp — just in time for Thanksgiving. This is due to the progress they have made in battling the Camp Fire.
Their tireless work will continue for weeks to come, until the fire is out and the community is safe.
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