California firefighters battling blaze in extreme heat
Firefighters are working around the clock battling numerous wildfires across the state of California.
Phil Hernandez is a superintendent for Arroyo Grande Hotshots, who supervises a team of wildland firefighters. Looking at a map of the Angeles National Forest Hernandez said, “Right now we’re on the Old Ridge Route." That's at an elevation of about 4,000 feet above Castaic.
It’s been just over a week since the Lake Fire sent flames racing through the Angeles National Forest chewing up over 27,000 acres. It’s still burning out there and could be for weeks.
FOX 11's Hal Eisner watched as firefighters cleared brush and cut containment lines. The fire is deep into the forest now, and the big plume could be seen off in the distance.
But the fire isn’t the firefighter's biggest issue; it’s the heat. Temperatures reached 102 degrees in the area on Thursday. These men and women chugged water from bottles to stay hydrated while working long 12-hour days.
"You definitely have to pace yourself," said Hernandez.
Louis Quezada said he's seen firefighters pass out from heat exhaustion. When asked if he finds himself sweating like a waterfall he told us, "yes...constantly."
Eisner knows that feeling. He covered some of the fires during a heatwave back in the '90s. At that time, the Orange County Fire Authority wanted to show him what it was like to set backfires and deal with 100-degree heat. Eisner was soaked and remembers dehydrating so fast he wasn’t sure he'd get enough water to feel better.
Although firefighters carry lots of water, Hernandez said, “We ran out of water two times, and once that happened we just stopped work.”
The Lake Fire is 48% contained. Full containment is expected by early September.