Local fire departments add crews for latest red flag-event
In a year that is less than three weeks old, Southern California is already bracing for its third extreme wind event, and that has fire officials scrambling to make sure extra staffing is on the clock and in the right places.
LAFD has increased its extra staffing from what it had on Jan. 7, the day the Palisades and Eaton fires exploded. In the hours before those fires, the department had 15 extra-manned engines and 14 pre-deployed engines. On Monday, they had boosted the numbers to 64 extra-manned engines and 33 pre-deployed engines.
"To prepare for these winds, the LAFD has deployed all available resources and strategically positioned fire patrols, fire engines in the high-risk areas across the city of Los Angeles," said Crowley at a news conference Monday morning.
Where crews are pre-positioned matters as well. L.A. City Fire currently has 25 fire engines in the Palisades area, with extra crews standing by at fire stations in Shadow Hills, Woodland Hills, West L.A., and Hollywood.
The L.A. County Fire Department currently has 5,175 firefighters assigned to the Palisades and Eaton fires, with extra Strike Teams pre-deployed to Agoura Hills, Pacoima and La Canada.
The distribution of crews is something both fire departments don't take lightly.
"There's a lot of thought and decisions that have to come into play as to where we can properly place them so they can be utilized in the here and now," Crowley says.
