Idaho fire crews help fight California wildfires
LOCAL
IDAHO FIRE CREWS HELP BATTLE DESTRUCTIVE CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
Idaho fire crews are part of a major national effort to get several destructive wildfires under control.
Author:
Alex Livingston
Published:
11:06 PM MST December 10, 2017
In California for the last few days, it's been all hands on deck as crews continue to battle massive wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of homes.
The state's most destructive wildfire currently burning has scorched an area three times the size of Boise. The Thomas Fire near Santa Barbara is only 15 percent contained, with more than 30,000 people under a mandatory evacuation order.
MORE: Firefighters struggle to contain massive Calif. blaze with no rain in sight
Meanwhile, fire crews are starting to get a handle on the the Lilac Fire in San Diego County, and evacuation orders were lifted on Sunday. After destroying more than 150 structures this past week, the 4,100 acre fire is now 75 percent contained.
"The fire burning at this magnitude it was really like a blow torch was coming through." said Boise Fire Captain Brian Ashton.
Two task forces from Idaho were sent to help fight the Lilac Fire including crews from Boise, Meridian, Kuna, Emmett, Payette, and Sand Hollow.
"We worked the 24-hour shift yesterday so we started yesterday morning and worked all through the night," Ashton said.
As the task force patrolled looking for hot spots making sure that when the wind picked up again on Sunday, that there wasn't anything that was going to flare up again.
"We spent most of the day yesterday running chainsaws, spraying water, basically feeling the ground with the back of our hands to make sure it was cold and out," Ashton said.
When crews from Idaho arrived in Southern California, the winds had calmed down so they didn't see the roaring flames from previous days. What they did see was the devastation those flames left behind.
"All of the ruins of the houses that were destroyed," Ashton said. "There were 150 houses that were destroyed on the Lilac Fire."
Residents were evacuated from their homes three days ago, but tomorrow they will be able to come back and see what's left.
"They're going to come home tomorrow to see the neighborhood and everything that they called home, gone," Ashton said. "That'll be tough. You can't help but wonder 'What if I lived here and this was my house?'.