Bay Area firefighters assist SoCal teams during unprecedented Tropical Storm Hilary
RIVERSIDE COUNTY -- Four Oakland Fire Department firefighters are part of a 16-person crew making up the Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 4 in the East Bay.
The Governor's Office of Emergency Services dispatched the team to Riverside County Saturday afternoon.
Acting assistant chief Tracey Chin said the team is up against an unprecedented storm that has brought flash flooding, high winds, mudslides and power outages.
"You can see the roadway -- basically the floodwaters have come up so that center line is probably the high point of the crest of the road. So you can see the water is into both lanes," Chin said describing a video taken by firefighters on the ground. "So the rain is significant and the water is rising so trying to navigate through some of those areas is going to continue to be difficult."
On Sunday, they provided support to Riverside County fire crews.
"In that instance they received a dispatch for persons in distress in some flood water and, when they arrived, those local resources were already on scene. Basically they completed that rescue so they stood by as additional safety and resources for them," she explained as she described one particular call.
The team is expected to stay in Southern California at least through Tuesday.
Meanwhile the American Red Cross has set up 10 shelters in the disaster zone. As of Sunday night, the shelter population was low but volunteers were ready to support an influx of people.
"We also have trained disaster teams on the ground and on standby ready to respond to the storm in different ways such as supporting with sheltering, feeding, health services, disaster assessment and more," said Pooja Klebig, regional communications director of the American Red Cross in Northern California.
The Red Cross is encouraging residents to download its app to receive weather alerts, safety tips and open locations.
Oakland Fire said pitching in to help during this disaster does strain their own staffing levels.
"Our main focus is, of course, our own citizens in our community. At the same token, we definitely try very hard to help our neighbors out," Chin added.