Firefighters assist with LA blazes

A group of Mason County firefighters is in Los Angeles helping battle wildfires.

Central Mason Fire & EMS sent an engine Jan. 9 with three firefighters from CMFE and one crew member from North Mason Regional Fire Authority, CMFE Chief Jeff Snyder told the Journal in an email.

They will be deployed for 14 days, along with travel time, and the total deployment will be 18 days, Snyder said.

"Central Mason Fire & EMS Engine 57 has been assigned to a five-engine strike team out of Central Region consisting of Thurston, Grays Harbor and Lewis counties. From the Puget Sound area, 25 engines, 100 firefighters, and 12 overhead (supervisors) are heading to Southern California," according to Snyder.

"Please keep them in your thoughts as they travel with nine other engines from our region. They will be driving straight through the day and night to jump into action supporting the locals who are exhausted from the non-stop battle" Central Mason Fire wrote in a Facebook post.

Firefighter and EMT Beau Ward, Captain Mark Frazier and Lieutenant Brandon Heggie are the crew from Central Mason Fire, and firefighter and paramedic Kyle Severance is from North Mason Fire, Snyder said.

"North Mason's paramedic Kyle Severance will be helping to staff a Central Mason engine as they deploy to California in the greater Los Angeles area. The crew will join a Strike Team of Thurston County firefighters that are being requested by California under an Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) request. The deployment is in response to multiple large fires being spread by strong winds. Crews will report to a central staging area and then be assigned to an active fire or be used to support local fire agencies responding to emergencies" NMRFA said in a Facebook post.

The state's Emergency Management Division is working with fire departments across the state to coordinate 11 teams made up of 55 fire engines, 13 command vehicles and 220 personnel as of Jan. 9, according to a news release.

At least 24 people have died in the fires, with damage and economic losses at $250 billion to $275 billion, according to AccuWeather, a company that provides data on weather and its effects.