With wildfires sweeping through California, Damon Carrington, Big Pine Fire Chief, said in his 14 years of service he has never seen such a tremendous level of demand on the state’s volunteer fire system as he has in the past 10 months. In spite of this demand, he said the Eastern Sierra has risen to the challenge, not only through the dedication of its volunteer firefighters, but also by the tremendous sacrifices of their families and employers.

 

“I want the firefighters’ employers to know how much we appreciate them for letting these guys go,” Carrington said. “The employers don’t get as much recognition as they deserve. When they let a volunteer firefighter respond to these pre-positions and deployments, they have to continue operating short a mechanic, a retail person or a construction worker. Without the unwavering support from employers and families, these brave men and women wouldn’t be able to do what they do.”

 

The volunteer fire system plays a critical role in the overall firefighting industry in California, Carrington said. When the state’s firefighting resources are stretched thin, the California Office of Emergency Services reaches out to the volunteer fire departments to request pre-positions and deployments. A pre-position is when departments staff an engine in anticipation of possible weather-related incidents. Then, if a fire or other natural disaster requires additional resources, they are already in position to respond.

 

During the past month, resources from throughout Inyo and Mono counties have been deployed throughout the state numerous times.

 

“The needs have been non-stop,” Carrington said. “I’ve never been asked this much for deployments to help the state through the volunteer system. It’s been 13 or 14 requests since July. Of course, we have to make sure we’re taking care of our own communities first; no chief makes these kinds of decisions lightly..”

 

Firefighters from Big Pine, Bishop, and Wheeler Crest responded to the Eaton Fire, with Chief Dale Schmidt of Wheeler Crest serving as the task force leader for the Eastern Sierra Crew.

Lone Pine sent a water tender to the Paradise Fire that ravaged western Los Angeles in January.

Most recently, local crews returned from a deployment to the Border Two Fire in San Diego, with engines from Lone Pine, Independence, Big Pine, Bishop, and Wheeler Crest, with Schmidt once again serving as the task force leader.

 

While Carrington coordinates the Office of Emergency Services responses for the volunteer fire departments in Inyo County, Schmidt serves in the same capacity for Mono County. He is one of only two qualified task force leaders in the entire region. Schmidt, who has more than 30 years of firefighting experience locally, said sending local volunteers on deployments to large fires throughout the state provides the priceless opportunity to gain valuable experience they can then bring home to the Eastern Sierra.

 

“If we can get as many departments as we can on these task forces, it really helps with retention and recruitment,” Schmidt said. “We get great training and experience on these deployments. Every day they have the opportunity to pull line, talk on the radios, do hose lays, and all kinds of things that when they come back, their enthusiasm for volunteering their time as firefighters is higher. That’s why we try to get as many departments to participate as we can.”

 

Schmidt, who has served as task force leader for three different deployments in the past month, said several newer firefighters were able to deploy.

 

“It was very overwhelming for them when they got to the Eaton Fire, as far as the devastation,”  he said. “Once you get out in those urban environments with so many buildings on fire all around, you can get overwhelmed pretty fast by how much is there. Having the community support, as well as families and especially their employers supporting them and enabling them to go on such short notice, it really makes a difference.”

 

Additionally, by having volunteers from different departments work together on these deployments, it helps build comradery for when they need to collaborate on incidents at home in the Eastern Sierra.

 

“They performed well,” Schmidt said of the firefighters who responded on recent deployments. “We all meshed together, we lived together at camp, and we got the job done.”

 

“To all the volunteer firefighters, their employers, and especially their families, thank you,” Carrington said. “Your selflessness and sacrifice do not go unnoticed, especially during these devastating fires in the Los Angeles area.”