A San Bernardino County Fire Strike Team has returned home after a 14-day assignment working the Oak and McKinney fires. “Brush Patrol 6606” is housed out of Station 44 here in Joshua Tree. They are commonly deployed when there is a declared “state of extreme emergency” – using a mutual aid agreement with the California Office of Emergency Services enacted back in 1950.
The crew worked 24-hour shifts on the northern California fires – working the perimeters and performing mop-up operations. The crew was staffed by Captain Jason Pitsor, Engineer Justin Hashimoto and Firefighter-Paramedic Robert Guerra. Fire Station 44 in Joshua Tree remained fully-staffed as the crew worked the wildfires nearly 700 miles north. Both fires are almost fully-contained and have burned nearly 80,000 acres.
California Mutual Aid Agreement (PDF): https://www.caloes.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/Preparedness/Documents/CAMasterMutAidAgreement.pdf
