Firefighters preparing for “significant” fire season

In less than a week, Cal Fire will be at peak staffing, meaning every engine in the local unit will be fully functional for fire season. This week, seasonal firefighters are back in action, training in different scenarios ahead of what’s expecting to be a busy fire season.

The nearly 4,000 acres scorched by the “Metz fire” near Soledad last month could be an indicator of what’s to come this fire season.

“We’ve had some significant fires already in May and we haven’t even reached peak fire season yet, so the potential for having a significant fire season is there,” said Travis Eicher, a firefighter with Cal Fire.

Cal Fire isn’t taking chances. The San Benito-Monterey unit will be fully staffed in less than a week. Ahead of that, 20 seasonal firefighters are undergoing rigorous training in brutal conditions.

“Today we’re looking at 93-96 degrees, humidity is in the 20’s, and it’s pretty breezy,” said Arron Young, Cal Fire BEU training battalion chief.

Each firefighter goes through training circuits like digging fire lines up steep terrain, working with mobile attack helicopters, and working with the hoses.

“1,400 feet with four people,” said Eicher. “Each hose pack weighs about 50 pounds and you’re pulling a lot of hose up a hill on steep terrain.”

The most critical firefighter survival skill is deploying a fire shelter, something firefighters should learn before it becomes necessary.

“We always prepare for the worst fire season ever,” said Young. “It’s a term that’s always thrown out, but we’re coming off the long drought that we’ve had in California. We had a little bit of rain, or this winter I should say, and so what that’s done is it’s had a good grass crop in the local unit for us.”

That grass can carry fire into brush and heavier fuels like trees, which is why homeowners need to build defensible space.

Crews will also be working on structure fire training and medical training.