Los Angeles fire crews maxed out, assistance comes from outside county and state
As three wildfires burn in Los Angeles County Wednesday, with the Palisades and Eaton fires each just over 10,000 acres, out-of-state and outside county assistance continues to roll in as local fire personnel and resources are maxed out.
At a morning news conference, Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Anthony Marrone said all 29 county fire departments are at "a drawdown, with no fire apparatus or additional personnel to spare."
Similarly, the Los Angeles Fire Department put out notice of a "recall operation," asking all off-duty crews to report their availability to assist in firefighting -- the first time in 19 years the department has had to turn to this protocol.
Mutual aid has been requested from the counties of Orange, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo since the fires broke out Tuesday amid a red flag warning for the majority of Los Angeles County.
As part of California's Governor's Office of Emergency Services, crews from Alameda County, Oakland, Hayward and Fremont fire departments were sent to help fight the LA County fires. Arizona sent a team late Tuesday to assist as well.
Fire crews from other states have also been called to help out. "Thank you to the first responders from Nevada, Oregon and Washington State that are already on the road coming to L.A. County to assist," he said at a Wednesday morning news conference.
With all the crews in place, firefighting efforts were somewhat stalled Tuesday night and into the morning because of the high winds.
"Last night as of 1930 hours (7:30 p.m.), all aircrafts were grounded due to high winds," Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said. "Aircraft will be able to continue to resume their water drops and acreage mapping today, when the weather allows us to do so."
Aircraft resumed dropping fire retardant and water on the Palisades Fire around 7 a.m. Wednesday, according to LAFD.
The third wildfire burning is the Hurst Fire in Sylmar, which has reached 505 acres and is zero percent contained as of Wednesday afternoon.
"Los Angeles County firefighters will remain on the front lines until we reach full containment, and we ask that you keep Los Angeles County in your thoughts and prayers," Marrone said.
