Firefighters Update

The San Juan Island Fire and Rescue firefighters deployed as part of the regional strike team (left to right): Michael Henderson, Michael Hartzell, Kati English and Tad Lean – Contributed photo

UPDATE: Deployed San Juan Island Fire and Rescue Firefighters at Massive California Kincade Wildfire

FRIDAY HARBOR, WA — Four San Juan Island Fire and Rescue (SJIF&R) firefighters have been deployed as part of a western Washington regional strike team responding to the massive northern California Kincade wildfire disaster in Sonoma County.

The deployed regional strike team comprises of firefighters from San Juan, Snohomish, Whatcom, Skagit and Island Counties. They are part of 4,957 personnel from multiple states making significant progress as they battle the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County, California.

Latest Kincade Fire Status, via CalOES (California Office of Emergency Services):

• 77,758 acres burned
• 68% contained
• 165 homes destroyed
• 1,510 homes threatened, down from 80,000 earlier in the week

The strike team was dispatched through the national mutual aid system, managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). SJIF&R, and all other responding agencies, are fully reimbursed for the use of crews, equipment, fuel, travel and all related response costs.

Mutual aid is a critical component of emergency services preparation and disaster response. Communities provide resources they can spare and in turn, when faced by an extended disaster, they call on multiple resources from other communities.

The San Juan Island Fire & Rescue was established on October 6, 1958. The fire department covers about 55 square miles, includes all of San Juan Island, as well as Brown and Pearl Islands. For more information, please visit http://www.sjifire.org/

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