Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Philadelphia Inquirer
July 11, 2008
Troops, including combat-zone veterans, assist others who have worked 36-hour shifts.
By Juliana Barbassa, Associated Press
ALBION, Calif. - Sweat rolled down Lisa Mirander's forehead as she hacked a tangle of saplings and brush down to bare dirt to prevent a wildfire from spreading. It was a tough job, but no harder than the 13 months she served in Afghanistan.
California's wildfire season has become so severe so swiftly that for the first time in more than 30 years, National Guard troops have been deployed to fight the flames on the ground. Many are arriving at the fire line just after returning from combat zones.
For Mirander, the two jobs share some similarities.
In combat, she said, "you worried about the bullets. Here, you got the fire."
The Guard is stepping in as crews across the state struggle to contain hundreds of lightning-sparked fires that have burned more than 1,000 square miles and destroyed nearly 100 homes in the last three weeks.
The first wave of 200 troops took their places Wednesday, providing "a breath of fresh air" to crews on the ground, said Dan Burns, an assistant fire chief who was helping integrate the Guard into the firefighting effort.
"It'll really relieve a lot of pressure out there," Burns said. "The state got hit by so many fires at once - we couldn't staff them all."
Because this fire season started so early, the firefighting conditions have been among the worst in memory, even among longtime crews, said Terence McHale, policy director for CDF Firefighters of Cal Fire, the union representing the firefighters.
"We have firefighters who've been working nonstop since mid-May, who haven't seen their families or homes, who are working 24-hour shifts, 21 days on, sometimes putting in 36 hours in the initial attack of a fire," McHale said.
By yesterday, 1,450 fires had been contained, but more than 320 were still active.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the California National Guard to the front lines and expects to call up more troops. Yesterday, he requested additional resources from President Bush.
Conditions are expected to worsen, with a continuing heat wave and additional lightning storms predicted for the rest of the week, Schwarzenegger said.
Fire officials who trained the Guard members were impressed by the morale of the troops as they prepared to face wildfires for the first time.
"It feels good - not that it didn't feel good to serve in Iraq," said Jacques Lewis, 51, a postal worker in San Francisco who spent a year in Iraq. "It really feels good to be helping out at home."
About half of the 35 troops training for the wildfires had served in Iraq or Afghanistan, said State Fire Capt. Walter Williams, who led the training.
But even for troops with combat experience, fighting fires is new, Williams said.
They must learn how flames can double back, leap over trenches, and surprise even experienced firefighters. They also have to figure out how and where to dig, and how to feed out a fire hose.
They won't carry chain saws and won't be placed on an active fire by themselves. Instead, they will work alongside more experienced firefighters, Burns said.
July 11, 2008
Troops, including combat-zone veterans, assist others who have worked 36-hour shifts.
By Juliana Barbassa, Associated Press
ALBION, Calif. - Sweat rolled down Lisa Mirander's forehead as she hacked a tangle of saplings and brush down to bare dirt to prevent a wildfire from spreading. It was a tough job, but no harder than the 13 months she served in Afghanistan.
California's wildfire season has become so severe so swiftly that for the first time in more than 30 years, National Guard troops have been deployed to fight the flames on the ground. Many are arriving at the fire line just after returning from combat zones.
For Mirander, the two jobs share some similarities.
In combat, she said, "you worried about the bullets. Here, you got the fire."
The Guard is stepping in as crews across the state struggle to contain hundreds of lightning-sparked fires that have burned more than 1,000 square miles and destroyed nearly 100 homes in the last three weeks.
The first wave of 200 troops took their places Wednesday, providing "a breath of fresh air" to crews on the ground, said Dan Burns, an assistant fire chief who was helping integrate the Guard into the firefighting effort.
"It'll really relieve a lot of pressure out there," Burns said. "The state got hit by so many fires at once - we couldn't staff them all."
Because this fire season started so early, the firefighting conditions have been among the worst in memory, even among longtime crews, said Terence McHale, policy director for CDF Firefighters of Cal Fire, the union representing the firefighters.
"We have firefighters who've been working nonstop since mid-May, who haven't seen their families or homes, who are working 24-hour shifts, 21 days on, sometimes putting in 36 hours in the initial attack of a fire," McHale said.
By yesterday, 1,450 fires had been contained, but more than 320 were still active.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the California National Guard to the front lines and expects to call up more troops. Yesterday, he requested additional resources from President Bush.
Conditions are expected to worsen, with a continuing heat wave and additional lightning storms predicted for the rest of the week, Schwarzenegger said.
Fire officials who trained the Guard members were impressed by the morale of the troops as they prepared to face wildfires for the first time.
"It feels good - not that it didn't feel good to serve in Iraq," said Jacques Lewis, 51, a postal worker in San Francisco who spent a year in Iraq. "It really feels good to be helping out at home."
About half of the 35 troops training for the wildfires had served in Iraq or Afghanistan, said State Fire Capt. Walter Williams, who led the training.
But even for troops with combat experience, fighting fires is new, Williams said.
They must learn how flames can double back, leap over trenches, and surprise even experienced firefighters. They also have to figure out how and where to dig, and how to feed out a fire hose.
They won't carry chain saws and won't be placed on an active fire by themselves. Instead, they will work alongside more experienced firefighters, Burns said.