LOS ALTOS, United States (AFP) — As wildfires ravage the western United States and Canada, some fire departments near San Francisco are teaming up to share staff to bolster their collective defenses during a historically severe season.
Authorities said the northern California scheme — which includes the city of Palo Alto, Los Altos County and Santa Clara County — helps first responders adapt to new wildfire patterns, so they can attack blazes in their early stages.
In Santa Clara County, that has meant three more firefighters and one more fire engine at one fire station, with the chance to increase extra coverage.
“Those extra three people and extra fire engine can make a big difference,” said Santa Clara County Fire Department spokesman Justin Stockman.
“Having more resources closer to where fires may start is the best chance we have, once they start, to keep them under ten acres.”
The visiting firefighters stay at the station alongside regular staff, studying fire patterns and getting ready to battle any inferno wherever it breaks out in the area.
“That helps beef up the response and staffing in this area,” Stockman said.
Thanks to the new arrangement, one fire station in Los Altos is fully staffed for the first time in years, according to officials.
California authorities have warned that fire conditions could continue to worsen.
The Dixie Fire in the northern part of the state has been raging since mid-July, part of a climate crisis that has brought sweltering heat and an alarming drought.
The flames, which stretch a circumference of at least 82 miles (130 kilometers) around and have prompted evacuation orders, have grown so large that they have created clouds that can cause lightning and high winds.
Fires have already ravaged three times more vegetation this year than they had at this time in 2020, the worst fire year in California’s history.
“Last summer was a wakeup call for the Bay Area,” Stockman said. “This year is going to be the worst wildfire season on record.”
© Agence France-Presse
