ST. GEORGE — Local fire departments are returning home after traveling across state lines to aid in fighting disastrous wildfires in California.
Crews from the Cedar City and Hurricane fire departments are returning home after lending aid to Sonoma County, California, working alongside their local fire departments as they attempted to contain the Kincade Fire. The large fire burning near San Francisco, along with the Getty Fire in Los Angeles, have forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.
The Kincade Fire has lasted for nearly two weeks and has burned nearly 78,000 acres. Officials announced Monday that the fire is almost completely contained. Almost 400 buildings were destroyed, 174 of which where residential.
Cedar City Fire Department Chief Mike Phillips told St. George News their department sent a Type 6 brush truck to Santa Rosa, California with a crew of three early on Oct. 27. Crews were just released from the fire Monday afternoon and are expected to return to Southern Utah late Tuesday afternoon.
The department was selected via a nationwide wildlands system called the Resource Ordering System. Phillips said the department is called to offer local interagency aid quite frequently, but this year they have also been asked to lend national aid throughout the entire summer.
“We would hope that if we ever had a big fire here that they would be willing to come and help us,” Phillips said.
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