North Texas firefighters heading to California to help battle wildfires

Firefighter teams from across North Texas are heading out to California to help battle historic wildfires there.

And some teams are already out there.

Pictures show members of the McKinney Fire Department out helping battle a blaze in northern California.

Once that team gets home, another one will be ready to go.

Friday morning, dozens of firefighters trained for wildfires will deploy to California.

They are both nervous and proud to answer the call to help as wildfires rage in California, causing skies to glow orange.

There are hundreds of fires burning along the West Coast, which is too many for firefighters there to handle alone.

That’s why firefighters here in the Metroplex are packing up to travel to the flames.

“We don’t know exactly the environment we’ll be in. We know that we’re going to California. We don’t know the exact place that we’re going to report to. We’re packing for everything,” Dallas Fire Rescue Section Chief Scott Pancot said.

Pancot will lead 13 firefighters and three rigs on the haul that’s expected to take three days just to get there.

The state of California asked for help from Texas late Wednesday.

Firefighters will deploy early Friday.

The Dallas firefighters will be joined by firefighters from Arlington, Fort Worth, Flower Mound, Allen, McKinney, and other North Texas cities.

“California has had their hands full for quite a while, and we’re excited to go be able to go help. We’re a large force coming from Texas to help, so we have comfort in numbers,” Pancot added.

Pictures were taken by four McKinney firefighters who have been in California for weeks.

Thursday, the crew was on a 24-hour shift working the Oak Fire, burning in Mendocino County, northwest of Sacramento.

The smoke has engulfed daylight, creating total darkness by afternoon.

McKinney Fire Captain Ben Jones has been following their movements from back home.

The crew spent one night holding a fire line as it came over a ridge.

“The whole strike team was lined up on the road, basically stopping the fire from advancing into a critical area,” Jones said.

He said these fires are dynamic, and a firefighter’s job is to watch the topography, watch the weather, and monitor the fuel load, all at once.

“The amount of fire, the intensity of the fire, it’s something like we haven’t seen ever before,” Jones added.

The firefighters from McKinney will leave their gear behind and soon return to Texas, while another crew from McKinney is flying out to relieve them.

“The ones that are coming home, I’m sure they’ll be glad to see their families, and the ones that are going out there, we’re just increasing that exposure. Yeah, there is a little bit of nervousness for them,” Jones said.

These crews have been told to expect the worst, and pack to prepare to be completely self-sustained on their rigs for 72 hours.