Crime & Safety
Kirkland Firefighters Deploy To Help California Wildfire Response
A contingent of Kirkland firefighters is helping in Sonoma County, one of five affected by the second-largest wildfire in state history.
KIRKLAND, WA — A team of Kirkland firefighters is lending a hand in Northern California, where several major wildfires continue to burn over hundreds of thousands of acres.
Right now, Kirkland's team is based at the Sonoma County Fairground in Santa Rosa, to the west of where the LNU Lightning Complex Fires have burned more than 350,000 acres, killing five and destroying nearly 1,000 structures. According to Cal Fire, at least 30,500 buildings are still at-risk. Estimated containment grew slightly overnight, reaching 27 percent Tuesday morning.
Our firefighters are currently based at the Sonoma County Fairground & are working 24-30 hr rotations (with 24 hr rests in between). They are currently helping to ensure people have evacuated, & staffing lookouts to make sure other crews are safe when attacking the fire. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/0UzHK6vSxU
— Kirkland, Washington (@kirklandgov) August 24, 2020
Thousands in Northern California remain under evacuation orders, and more than 1.25 million acres have burned across the state since Aug. 15.
Find out what's happening in Kirklandfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
City officials said Kirkland's firefighters are proud to be helping and grateful to be "a small part of the puzzle" to help save lives.
Lt. Riedl, FF Shaeffer, Hall & McDougall all miss family, but are proud to be helping. They say the fires are dynamic & challenging, & they are grateful to be a small part of the puzzle to get the fires under control & save lives & property.#kirklandfire #CaliforniaWildFire (2/2) pic.twitter.com/BWnHrWwp7Z
— Kirkland, Washington (@kirklandgov) August 24, 2020
Related Coverage:
Find out what's happening in Kirklandfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
LNU Lightning Complex: Fires Grow Overnight; 27% Containment
Fairgrounds Step Up As Base Camp For LNU Lightning Firefighters
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.