Cal Fire San Diego explains how large fires are fought

RAMONA, Calif. (KGTV) - Drop after drop of water and fire-retardant dumped on the charred hills in Boulevard as CalFire is in the thick of a fight with fire.

“We really try to get a jump on it from the ground and the air,” Captain Thomas Shoots of CalFire San Diego said. “What we do is we send a huge contingent early. We send fixed wing, helicopters, all of our ground resources; bulldozers, hand crews.”

No matter the size, Shoots said CalFire responds with plenty of resources.

“We definitely don’t mess around. We throw everything at it to try to keep them (fire) small,” Shoots said.

Shoots said the aircraft help in rural areas like the McCain Fire, where ground crews can’t get to. They also provide assistance beyond just dropping water and retardant.

“A lot of that area out in McCain is so steep and rocky; we can’t even get bulldozers out there. So, we rely on hand crews hiking in sometimes miles at a time; sometimes we actually have to fly in crews with a helicopter to get them out to where they need them,” Shoots said.

Shoots told 10News that after massive fires in 2003 and 2007, the region continued to build up its air and ground crews to fight massive fires like the McCain fire.

“We’re not getting resources from the South, and there’s not a whole lot to offer from the East. So, everything’s coming down from Riverside and beyond to come and help us,” Shoots said. “They do arrive, but it does take time, and we’re always competing with other fires throughout the state. So, the better we can take care of ourselves here in San Diego County, the better off we are going to be, and we’ve done a really good job doing that.”