Toro Park closed while crews battle Tassajara Fire

UPDATE 5:15 p.m. 9/22/15: Toro Park in Monterey County is closed as fire crews from around the state battle the 1,068 acre Tassajara Fire burning near Carmel Valley Village.

The Incident Command Center is staging at the park, as a base camp for fire crews and their equipment. There is a constant hustle and bustle of trucks heading to the fire or returning. Toro Park is where the decision making happens.

“We need to have that span of control,” said Cal Fire Public Information Officer Scott McLean. “And we have to be here to see what’s going on to be able to react to it.”

All aspects of firefighting have their own stations set up. An operations trailer oversees the actual firefighting, while finance keeps track of where the money is going. There are also amenities for out-of-town firefighters to keep them comfortable.

“We have laundry service, we have showers, we have various types of amenities,” said McLean. “The information section actually has mail service and lost and found. So yes, we try to have that amenity as best as we can. We need to keep the spirits up. These young men and women have been working day in and day out for months in the state of California. We need to take care of them.”

At one time, there were over 750 personnel here from Cal Fire to inmate crews. With the Tassajara Fire dying down, so is the number of personnel. Some crews have already demobilized and are headed home, but some are here for the long haul.

“It is extinguished at this time,” McLean said. “We are working on little pockets of hot area. As far as being able to walk away, it’s ongoing. We need to do mop up and patrol, that’ll be taking place probably another couple weeks.”

Toro Park will remain closed as long as the command center is still set up. The earliest it could reopen is toward the end of the week.

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Toro Park in Monterey County is closed as fire crews from around the state battle the 1,068 acre Tassajara Fire burning near Carmel Valley Village. The Incident Command Center is staging at the park, as a base camp for fire crews and their equipment.

All aspects of firefighting have their own stations set up. An operations trailer oversees the actual firefighting, while finance keeps track of where the money is going. There are also amenities for out-of-town firefighters to keep them comfortable.

“We have laundry service, we have showers, we have various types of amenities,” said Cal Fire Public Information Officer Scott McLean. “The information section actually has mail service and lost and found. So yes, we try to have that amenity as best as we can. We need to keep the spirits up. These young men and women have been working day in and day out for months in the state of California. We need to take care of them.”

Resources need to be located in one area because fire officials want to see what’s going on to be able to react quickly.

We’ll have more on this story coming up tonight on News Channel 5.