Grant County strike team left Thursday

GRANT COUNTY - Firefighters from seven fire departments in Grant County were deployed to Southern California Thursday afternoon.

They are assisting with firefighting efforts against a massive wildland fire destroying thousands of homes.

According to the New York Times, the wildfire began Sunday.

"The five engine strike team is part of a large response from Washington state to assist the citizens of California," Grant County Fire District No. 5 Battalion Chief Leonard Johnson stated.

The strike team includes 21 personnel from Grant County Fire District No. 3, Grant County Fire District No. 5, Grant County Fire District No. 10, Grant County Fire District No. 13, the Moses Lake Fire Department, the Ephrata Fire Department and the Grand Coulee volunteer fire department, he stated.

The strike team is expected to stay in California for 14 days, Johnson said. They will provide structure protection from the fire.

According to the Associated Press, a total of 10 people died due to fire related causes as of Thursday afternoon.

The seven counties affected in the blaze, including Orange County and San Diego County were declared to be in a state of major disaster by President George W. Bush. More than 750 square miles of land were consumed by the blaze leaving one third of the state's avocado crop destroyed.

"The citizens of Grant County should rest assured that they are still well protected," Johnson stated. "Over 250 personnel still remain in Grant County ready to answer emergencies."

He said the strike team is trained to handle the needs of a wildfire.

"Over the past two years, agencies have been training on National Incident Management System (NIMS) which helps to provide better inter-operability between agencies at the national level, Johnson stated. "All personnel responding are red card certified, which means they are trained to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) wildland firefighter training standards."

The standards were created at a national level to ensure common training for better coordination during wildland fires.

An inter-local agreement is established allowing Grant County fire districts to be reimbursed for expenses related to deployment, he stated.