By Stephen Baxter
The Santa Cruz Sentinel
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Among the roughly 65 firefighters from Santa Cruz County who helped battle Northern California wildfires in the past two weeks, two were injured, treated at a hospital and sent home, firefighters said Tuesday.
At the Lowell Fire in Placer and Nevada counties, a firefighter from Scotts Valley Fire and another from Branciforte Fire Protection District were injured July 28 when rocks the size of soccer balls rolled down a steep hill and struck them, said Scotts Valley Fire Battalion Chief Tim Theilen.
“It was gut wrenching,” said Theilen. “They got hoisted out” by helicopter, he said.
The Branciforte firefighter broke his arm and dislocated his elbow and the Scotts Valley firefighter hurt his shoulder, said Scotts Valley Fire Chief Dan Grebil. Both were transported to a hospital and have returned to Santa Cruz County, Grebil said.
They were part of a 22-firefighter strike team which left July 23 from the Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz, Central, Zayante and Branciforte fire departments. The team first fought the Wragg Fire in Napa County, which is now 97 percent contained and burned more than 8,050 acres, according to Cal Fire.
They were then sent to the Lowell Fire in Placer and Nevada counties, then to the Mendocino National Forest Lightning Complex Fire and the Humboldt Lightning Fire. They worked in Humboldt from 10:30 p.m. Monday to 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.
“We’re in good spirits and working hard,” Theilen said from there Tuesday.
The crew mainly has been “plumbing lines,” Theilen said, or connecting water sources to other firefighters. The crew is expected to return home Aug. 6 after serving 14 days, but leaders have not yet decided if they will be sent elsewhere.
At least 15 lightning fires in Mendocino National Forest burned more than 200 acres as of Monday, Mendocino National Forest leaders said. One blaze in the forest was 30 percent contained on Monday and another was 60 percent contained.
Light rain and more lightning is expected this week.
Separately, Cal Fire firefighters from Santa Cruz County stations also have been fighting the 65,000 acre Rocky Fire in Lake County -- which was the largest wildfire in the state on Tuesday.
“We’ve brought in a lot of resources, over 3,200 firefighters,” Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said Tuesday during a live webcast on the mobile application Periscope.
Cal Fire firefighters from Corralitos, Felton, Saratoga-Summit and Sky Londa stations have been fighting the blaze since it started July 29, said Colleen Baxter, a Cal Fire spokeswoman in Santa Cruz County. Baxter said firefighters from the Sacramento Metro Fire Protection District have taken many of their places at those stations until they return.
“We want to make sure that there’s no change in the emergency fire service we provide” in Santa Cruz County, said Baxter.
At the Rocky Fire, about 13,000 people have been evacuated and more than 24 homes have been destroyed, Berlant said. More than a dozen planes have dropped fire retardant on the blaze and Chinook military helicopters have dropped water, according to Cal Fire.
Bulldozer crews and firefighters on the ground have been trying to protect homes and more importantly, save lives.
“It continues to be a big concern,” said Berlant.
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(c)2015 the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.)
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