Goleta, Calif. (KCOY/CNN Newsource) – A fire crew drove from Rogue River Oregon to help put out the Whittier Fire burning in California.
“They requested Type 3, which is what we are,” explained Joe Berklich with Rogue River Fire and Water. “1,000 gallons and from there they sent us a dispatch order and we headed this way”
They’re not on the front lines or flying in the sky, but what they’re doing is important especially if there’s wind is in the forecast.
If the conditions are right, embers a hot spot can quickly spread and turn into another fire. So crews are assigned to different sections of the Los Padres National Forest to extinguish hotspots.
They use a method called “cold trailing” which requires their hands.
“We use the back of our hand and we go around and you can feel the heat in the ground,” Berklich said, “So we’ll dig it up and put water on it”
In one case a tree stump was still hot. Berklich estimates the heat was trapped below at least 20 feet.
His team is trying to put out as many hot spots as possible before it gets windy. He said, “If you get a root like this on the road, eventually the wind picks up and picks up those little embers and spreads it into grass and away it goes. Then the wind takes over and we have a hard time catching them there’s a lot of wind.”
Crews just like Berklich’s will continue extinguishing hot spots even after the Whittier Fire reaches 100% containment.
Firefighters are expecting the fire to be more active in the next few days so people are asked to stay away from areas that are closed to the public.
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