Firefighting force battling Caldor fire more than doubles to 600

By Steve Large

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    EL DORADO COUNTY (KOVR) — Cal fire is short-staffed as it battles the Caldor Fire in El Dorado County.

The state agency reports the main reason for the shortage is the Massive Dixie Fire burning to the north.

The Dixie Fire, the second largest wildfire in California history, is taking up more than half of all available firefighters in the state. Of the 10,345 firefighters on fire lines right now, 6,041 were assigned to the Dixie Fire Wednesday morning.

Calfire listed 600 personnel on the Caldor Fire Wednesday night, up from only 242 in morning.

Both numbers are considered small for a wildfire that has now grown to more that 60,000 acres and is threatening more than 5,000 structures.

“We are in a resource-deprived environment,” Calfire Battalion Chief Dusty Martin said. “There are multiple fires going on around the state of California and we are all competing for the same resources.”

Besides Calfire’s stretched personnel, the U.S. Forest Service is also stretched thin, reporting a shortage of its hotshot crews.

Ivan Arabadjiav lives in Pollock Pines. He was evacuated from his home and believes it will survive the wildfire.

He says he watched the fire burning in a remote area for several days before it exploded in size.

“It would have taken a lot less effort to put it out if they got on it right at the beginning, you know,” Arabadjiav said. “Probably they didn’t have the resources cause there’s so many fires out there, you know?”

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