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 Currently in the fourth year of a devastating drought, California
has seen 1,500 more blazes this year than last. And those on the
front lines struggling against the walls of flame are wondering
when, if ever, work will return to normal.
"I have no idea when I'm going home,” said Scott Gillespie as he
finished a 24-hour shift fighting the 70,000-acre “Valley Fire” near
Napa in what is shaping up to be a record year. As of Wednesday
evening fires raging in three northern areas had consumed some
220,000 acres.
Gillespie, a 12-year veteran of the California Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection, commonly called Cal Fire, says the
recent conflagrations have been different and more dangerous from
others the firefighters have seen. There was once a distinct fire
season between April and September, he said, but no more.
"We've gotten to the point where we are ready for these fires year
round," said Gillespie, one of 2,800 firefighters struggling to
control the Valley Fire, which has already destroyed 600 buildings
and killed one person. “We're willing to do whatever it takes to
fight these things but it's taking its toll."
 He says the constant demands of the job have destroyed his marriage
and affected his only child. "My five-year-old son was crying in
kindergarten today" because he didn’t know when he would see his
father, said Gillespie. "I might not see him for another six weeks."
Frank Rodgers, a firefighter pulled in from San Mateo, three hours
from the Clear Lake area where the Valley Fire is raging, said he
fought a 7,000-acre blaze in February on the eastern side of the
Sierra Nevada mountains, an area where there should have been a
thick snow pack. On Monday, scientists at the University of Nevada
reported that the Sierra snow pack this year was at its lowest level
in 500 years.
Rodgers said the longer, more intense firefighting seasons are a big
change from when he joined the force 12 years ago. "It's very
stressful. At some point, it seems like it will never end," Rodgers
said.
“SPITTING AT THE FIRE”
Last year, Cal Fire fought 3,638 fires which burned a total of
90,848 acres. Already this year the agency has seen 5,225 fires,
which have destroyed 220,000 acres. And it is not just the sheer
number of fires that is causing fatigue and stress. Many of the
blazes, like the Valley Fire, have burned with an unpredictability
and malevolence rarely seen, says Scott McLean, a Cal Fire battalion
chief.
He blames this on the prolonged drought and a proliferation of
dense, dry undergrowth full of natural oils.
Within 12 hours, and with virtually no wind, the Valley Fire had
scorched more than 40,000 acres, moving at a speed that defied
computer modeling designed to predict a fire's behavior.
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"We are getting extreme fire behavior without winds," said Scott
Jones, a state fire behavior analyst, "The fires are traveling at
speeds in excess of the models."
The small amount of rain that fell in the area on Wednesday
afternoon was helpful, McLean said, but in reality "it's like
spitting at the fire." He said it will take years of rain and snow
to reverse the trend of longer, more dangerous firefighting seasons.
The blaze moved at such speed as it spread, that in its first hour
four firefighters were overtaken by the flames and badly burned. All
four are still hospitalized with first and second degree burns.
Cal Fire has about 4,300 permanent firefighters. Its ranks swell to
about 6,500 at the height of fire season, and numbers are augmented
by 4,300 prison inmates jailed for non-violent offences who are
assigned to Cal Fire. Nearly 500 inmates are fighting the Valley
Fire. Others, wearing bright orange jump suits with "Prisoner"
emblazoned in black lettering on their backs, serve food and clean
the command center.
Cal Fire's emergency firefighting budget has increased sharply in
recent years. The 2014/2015 budget is expected to end up at over
$434 million, compared to $90 million five years ago.
The extra funds, which come from California's general fund, buy
additional fire trucks, planes and helicopters, and help pay an
expanding overtime budget. But the money has done little to expand
the ranks of firefighters, which have remained relatively static,
although another 150 were hired last year.
"There is no end in sight," McLean said. "We are strict about people
getting rest, but there is no real respite at the moment. We haven't
had a real break all year."
(Editing by Jason Szep and Sue Horton)
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