City of Yuma Fire Department officials reported that some of their firefighters are assisting with a large wildfire in Northern California.
Yuma Fire officials said that this past Friday afternoon they received a mutual aid request from California authorities regarding a strike team deployment to the Park Fire burning near Chico, which is about 85 miles north of Sacramento.
NPR reported containment was at about 12 percent as of Monday afternoon. It is now the biggest active blaze in the country at more than 370,000 acres.
Back in Yuma, one Engine and four YFD personnel left at about 3 a.m. Saturday morning to meet in Imperial County, Calif. with other members of the Imperial Valley Strike Team.
Yuma fire officials said a strike team includes firefighting personnel and a team leader drawn from various departments. A team will normally stay together through their deployment.
Due to the equipment and training of Yuma firefighters, they are typically assigned to structure protection duties in neighborhoods. Deployed personnel are prepared to be gone for up to two weeks.
YFD officials said the last time their firefighters were deployed with a strike team or task force was in July 2023 to the Rabbit Fire in Riverside County, Calif.
