SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — At least three fire crews from departments in South Dakota are on their way to California to help with the fires in the Los Angeles area.
As of Monday morning, 24 people have died in the fires and the fire has destroyed 12,000 structures and burned 60 square miles in the Palisades and Eaton areas. About 92,000 people were under evacuation orders in Los Angeles County as of Monday morning.
High winds are in the forecast for Tuesday through noon Wednesday.
Crews and engines from the Black Hawk Fire Department and Fairburn Fire Department in western South Dakota left Monday morning. A group from South Dakota Wildland Fire also left Monday morning.
“(California) is not looking for anything super specific. They just need the manpower,” said Black Hawk firefighter Yaden Miller. But they were specific about the equipment, he said.
“We have a type I engineer that can fight the fire head-on because it carries water,” Miller said.
Four firefighters and an engine from Black Hawk are headed to California. Miller said three of the department’s four full-time members and a firefighter from Vermillion are part of the Black Hawk crew.
A four-member crew is attached to the Fairburn volunteer fire department crew, said district treasurer Moritz Espy. Espy said the crew includes two from Fairburn, one from Black Hawk and one from Argyle along with an engine.
SDWF is sending two engines, seven firefighters, and a chase vehicle (pickup truck), said South Dakota Department of Public Safety communications director Brad Reiners.
Espy said firefighters want to help where they can. In state, fire departments have mutual aid agreements and they often help each other.
“When you get into firefighting, you want to help,” Espy said. “There’s nothing better than going out of state and helping where you are needed. There is a sense of community fulfillment, helping those in need.”
“We go all over the country,” Miller said of Black Hawk.
Black Hawk firefighters were at fires in Indiana, Minnesota and Idaho along with two fires in California last summer, Miller said.
Miller and Espy said their crews will be working for two weeks straight with two days off. Those that are able are likely to work a second two weeks, Miller said.
The plan for Fairburn is to send a new crew to California so the other crew can return for a time, Espy said. The engine would stay in California for the exchange of crews.
The crews have fought all kinds of fires. “The big thing with this one is the amount of residential homes getting impacted,” Miller said. “That’s why they are calling out so many resources.”
Crews will likely be sleeping in tents while working in California, Espy said.
Espy said one reason why crews leave is to help ensure the financial future of their local departments.
“We realized that one way to keep our fire department open is to do a lot of work out of state,” Espy said.
The crews get paid and the department gets paid for the use of the engine, he said. The payment for engine use “goes into our department,” Espy said.
In a time when funding for local fire departments can be a challenge, the revenue generated from out-of-state response is important, Espy said.
