KIMBERLY, Idaho — In response to recent wildfires, firefighters from various states, including those from the Magic Valley, are assisting in southern California.
Ron Aguirre is Deputy Fire Chief for theRock Creek Rural Fire Protection District. He told Idaho News 6 that two firefighters from Rock Creek and one from Twin Falls Fire Department have been busy mopping up areas that have already experienced fires.
"They were going through on the fires that had already devastated some of those areas and they were just mopping, taking care of small fires so when the next round of Santa Ana winds come in, it didn't blow a bunch of fire debris around and start additional fires," Aguirre said.
The Rock Creek Fire District sent the firefighters along with a Type-3 engine — a vehicle typically used for battling wildfires — along with a task force leader and vehicle. Aguirre emphasized the importance of providing assistance to other regions, noting that the need for help is often reciprocal.
"If you think back a few years ago to when we had a fire in the South Hills, we requested a lot of resources and they came out and helped us. So we feel that it's important that we have those relationships," Aguirre explained.
Besides the pride that comes from aiding others, there is also a financial benefit for the department. Aguirre said that this support can positively impact their operational budget.
"It's a paid assignment — one of the things is we get paid to go down, and it actually helps our operational budget at the end of the year. We receive money from these different fires to help us out operationally," Aguirre said. "The other piece to that is we get some really quality and real-world quality experience on these fires."
Some local citizens have expressed concerns regarding the costs associated with these efforts and whether sending firefighters out of state could leave Idaho crews less capable of handling emergencies at home. Aguirre reassured the public that they need not worry.
"We can tell them that we've got a robust volunteer group and part-time group," Aguirre said. "So when we do send crews and some of the volunteers and part-timers as well, they are also able to plug into our program here. So we're fully staffed and we have plenty of apparatus and engines to respond to anything that we do."
