By Bay City News.
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Fire departments from all corners of the Bay Area have deployed hundreds of personnel, along with engines, trucks, tankers and other resources in recent days to help battle the massive fires in Los Angeles County.
Local crews are joining a force of more than 7,500 emergency personnel battling the fires, according to CalFire.
Fueled by strong Santa Ana winds earlier in the week, the two largest fires, the Palisades and Eaton fires, have burned nearly 30,000 acres since Tuesday morning.
Fire officials said at least five people have died, an estimated 10,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed and thousands have been forced to flee their homes.
Departments across San Mateo County have deployed more than 150 personnel along with about two dozen engines and a drone to help battle the massive fires raging in Los Angeles County, county officials said Thursday.
“We sent a truck to the first strike team. The order came in at 8 p.m. on the 7th and they left at 10 p.m. on the 7th,” said Pat Murphy, battalion chief for the Central County Fire Authority of San Mateo County, which serves Burlingame, Hillsborough and Millbrae.
Crews arrived in Los Angeles in time for the morning briefing and then worked a 24-hour shift on the Palisades fire, Murphy said.
On Wednesday morning, the San Francisco Fire Department sent a strike team of 22 firefighters to the Palisades fire, and later that day sent nine more firefighters in smaller firefighting trucks that can maneuver in tight spaces.
Napa, Contra Costa and Alameda counties have also sent teams and crews, along with several city departments including Santa Rosa, Oakland, Hayward, Fremont and San Jose.
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