The mutual aid call came in early morning on Jan. 8, according to Los Banos Fire Chief Paul Tualla. Within hours the team of four Los Banos firefighters were ready and hitting the road. Their destination, the Eaton Fire in Altadena.
The Los Banos firefighers now on the ground are Captain Brian Thompson, Acting-Engineer Jesus Miramontes, Firefighter Diego Flores and Firefighter Edward Casho. They all volunteered to go to the fire.
They are using firetruck OES 377, a vehicle provided to the city by the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. The truck is a distinctive yellowish green and has been used by Los Banos for multiple other fires.
The firestorm in and around Los Angeles started on Jan 7.
With the Santa Ana winds and a record-dry winter, the hills north of Los Angeles became the perfect tinder box. Gusts of up to 100 miles per hour, with winds consistently in the 60s, grounded fire-suppression aircraft and exasperated the situation. Combined, as of Jan. 11 over 29,000 acres are burning or have burnt with Palisades and Eaton contained only at 11% and 15% respectively.
Firefighters from as far north as Canada, and as south as Mexico answered the call to help. Federal firefighters have been sent in. President Joe Biden declared that the federal government would pay for the entire operation, telling Governor Gavin Newsome, “Spare no expense.”
“In my years of being a fire chief, here and at San Joaquin County,” Tualla said. “I think I’ve sent one team out during December. But I’ve never sent a team out in January.” Tualla mentioned that while resources had been pre-positioned to fight a potential fire, the firestorm “overwhelmed” all the resources.
A second mutual aid request came in during the afternoon of Jan. 8, but the Los Banos Fire Department couldn’t fulfill it. Other nearby cities sending mutual aid include Gilroy, Kingsburg, Sanger, Fresno, Selma and Merced.
The Los Banos firefighters arrived in Altadena in the early afternoon of Jan 8. “As soon as they got down there they got an assignment, and they’ve been at work ever since,” Tualla said. “They’ll probably be on the line from 36 to 48 hours, just because of the impact of this fire.”
Usual shifts for mutual aid fires in the past like the Line Fire in 2024 were 24 hours on, 24 hours off. It was later confirmed that the Los Banos firefighters did work a 30+ hour shift before getting some rest.
As soon as they reached the fire, Tualla said, “they’ve been doing Active Firefighting operations.” Tualla said that in Altadena the crew has done “mop-up operations.” They’ve become part of a Fresno County CalOES Strike Team 5001A. Their strike team is commanded by a Fresno city firefighter.
The Los Banos firefighters could be deployed up to an initial 21 days. “I’m anticipating, they’re probably going to be there at least a week, depending on what happens with this fire,” Tualla said. “If they go much over two weeks, they will try to do a crew change and send the current team back home to rest.” He also said the time deployed could be extended further, with 28 days being typical in larger fires.
The firemen could be reassigned to other fires during their deployment depending on need.
The conditions of the fires make their job especially dangerous. During his time in San Joaquin County, Tualla remembered a fire in the Altamont Pass with similar conditions of 60-70 mph gusts. “As soon as I got my lines down the fire burned over the ridge and was immediately gone seconds later. It was super-fast, it was like a storm came through, it was whirling around and a second later we were covered in ash. It had burned through there.”
Tualla said the Los Banos firefighters will be facing a much more urban environment than he did in Altamont Pass.
Tualla said, “You should always have some sort of safety plan and an evacuation plan handy for events like this.” He also mentioned that if you know anyone that may be affected, it would be good to call them and check in with them. If you would like to donate or help out there are websites out there, but, he said, “make sure it’s a reputable, governmental site.”
He said, that even with OES 377 and four firemen out, the Los Banos Fire Department still has “safe staffing here at home.”
