When the Feliz Fire broke out near Hopland in neighboring Mendocino County on August 1st, Southern Humboldt fire departments quickly banded together again, reforming Strike Team 2075C.
The five Type 3 engines making up the team were staffed by firefighters from Briceland, Shelter Cove, Salmon Creek, Telegraph Ridge, and Redway Fire Departments, and were led by Shelter Cove Chief Nick Pape as Strike Team Leader.
After a 24-hour shift working in extreme heat to hold the fire’s edge and help corral the blaze, the team received word of another large and destructive fire burning in Calaveras County. Once released from the Feliz Fire, ST 2075C was immediately reassigned to the Gann Fire.
After travelling across the central valley and into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, crews spent another shift working that fire, securing homes that had survived the initial spread and gathering information on structures and property that had been lost. Unfortunately, there was a great deal of loss to document from the fast-moving fire, which burned under exceptionally dry conditions.
As additional emergency resources arrived by land and air and winds began to subside, firefighters were able to stop the Gann Fire’s forward progress.
On August 7, after several days of back-to-back assignments, the Southern Humboldt strike team was released and began the trip home.
We are proud of the firefighters from across Southern Humboldt who came together to represent our communities on these incidents. The ability of our local volunteer departments to combine personnel, equipment, and experience into a single, effective strike team is a powerful example of regional cooperation and mutual aid.
