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Extreme red flag fire risk prompts Bay Area fire departments to preposition strike teams
Red flag warnings are set to begin Thursday into the weekend with high wind gusts creating hazardous conditions. Bay Area fire departments are getting some state funds to preposition strike teams to respond more quickly to fires this week.
DUBLIN, Calif. - Bay Area firefighters are concerned about the red flag warning that begins Thursday and extends into the weekend, with high wind gusts and very dry grass and other fuels creating dangerous potential for fires during October, a month that has seen some of the most deadly Bay Area fires in past years.
Many departments are putting strike teams in place starting at 8 a.m. Thursday and will have them remain ready until the red flag period ends.
Alameda County Fire is one of the departments that was increasing staff and resources on Wednesday night thanks to state funding.
"We're going to have a type 3 strike team that consists of five 4WD type three engines.: two from Alameda County, one from Oakland, one from Hayward, one from Fremont," Alameda County Fire Battalion Chief Kent Carlin said.
Alameda County Fire is also getting state funds to staff a 16-person hand crew, and two extra dispatchers for the duration of the red flag period.
"Having that stuff on hand early, without having to assemble it is going to be key," Carlin said.
Red flags will be raised outside fire stations on Thursday when the warning takes effect.
"Every one of our fire stations puts one of these up," Carlin said. "We want to let the public know that conditions are critical."
The strike team also includes a front-line bulldozer based at the county's station in Dublin.
"We'll use it to remove fuel from the fire, and we build fire breaks with it," said Brandon Franco, an Alameda County Fire Engineer.
Fire crews say October has been one of the most dangerous times of the fire season..
In 1991, the devastating Oakland Hills fire wiped out thousands of homes and 25 people were killed.
"The Oakland Hills fire that was in late October. The Camp Fire was even in November," Franco said. "So a lot of the bigger fires in this area occur at this time of year."
The North Bay firestorms broke out October 8, 2017, ripping through Napa, Sonoma, and Solano counties, killing more than 30 people and destroying more than 8,000 structures.
"There's been so many improvements," said Santa Rosa Division Chief Paul Lowenthal. "We have the technology with the weather stations, cameras, all the advances we've made in the alert warning systems, we are leaps and bounds today from where we were in 2017."
Fire officials say the most important thing is for residents to take extra precautions.
"Any blade strike on a rock has a high probability of causing a fire."
"We'll keep an eye out. It won't be like last time where we're sleeping and at the last second have to evacuate," Michael Hawkins, a Coffey Park resident said. "We'll try to pay attention. I don't want to lose our home again."