Published on December 10, 2017

News Release Update – 10.30 pm:

Their work done in Los Angeles County, Three Type One Municipal Fire Engine Strike Teams from San Mateo County have been re-deployed to the 230,000 Acre Thomas Fire in Ventura County after spending the last five day’s assigned to the “Creek Fire” in Los Angeles County.

The fifteen  Type 1 “Heavy” Municipal Fire Engines from almost every Fire Agency in San Mateo County were first deployed on December 5 at noon to the Creek Fire in Los Angeles County.

The 66 personnel from a variety of Fire Agencies in San Mateo County first started leaving Los Angeles County last night and others followed today. The firefighters had been providing structure protection and conducting fire line operations.

The Fire District has contributed two Fire Engines and a Strike Team Leader to this recent deployment. They are also currently balancing personnel staffing against being first-up in rotation amongst other partnering Federal Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces for the Western Region of the United States that respond to Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Tornadoes and acts of Terrorism.

Fire Chief Schapelhouman said “we were hoping to quietly wind down the year but that’s not going to happen now. We’ve been juggling multiple and at times simultaneous deployments starting with flooding in January then fires that started in the Spring followed by Hurricanes over the Summer and now major fires first in the North and now in the South...it’s been a crazy busy year”.
 

Photograph: 

Firefighters from Menlo Park, Woodside, Redwood City, Central County and San Mateo County Fire take a group photograph before leaving the Creek Fire in Los Angeles County after being re-deployed to the Thomas Fire in Ventura County