It ‘doesn’t happen very often.’ Two ‘Type 1’ firefighter teams battling the Creek Fire
The Creek Fire is the most “aggressive” to spark in the region, and state officials have deployed two teams of “Type 1” firefighters to battle the blaze in remotes areas of Fresno and Madera counties.
Type 1 firefighting teams include elite crews more commonly known as “hotshots.”
Having two Type 1 teams with multiple “hotshot” crews fighting the same fire is rare and a sign of the challenge the Creek Fire poses, according to Brian Scott, a spokesperson for the Great Basin Type 1 team, one of the two teams attacking the fire.
About 1,060 firefighters are attacking the fire from opposite sides of the San Joaquin River, with one team focusing on Madera County and the other on Fresno County.
“Our goal is to, first and foremost, protect citizen and firefighter safety,” he said. “It’s not unprecedented to have a Type 1 incident in the nation or in California ... but more than one doesn’t happen very often.”
Situated northeast of Fresno in the Sierra National Forest, the Creek Fire is the newest and largest blaze to erupt in the state this past weekend, engulfing large portions of California’s terrain and sending a fresh gust of smoke and ash into the air.
Scott said depending on the fire’s size and topography of the affected area, several Type 1 teams could be sent, such as when he worked with four teams in Arizona battling a destructive blaze. But those types of fires and the teams equipped to handle them are not typical, he added.
Due to the Creek Fire’s location, Scott said, it “makes sense” to have two different teams working with each county. Type 1 teams are specifically trained to battle challenging fires in areas with steep, rugged terrain, an accessible fuel source such as brush or trees, and in scorching temperatures.
A firefighter has to have rigorous training, practice, and several certifications to assume “hotshot” status, as well as be very physically fit and have the “grit and ability” to put themselves in difficult situations.
“A Type 1 incident management team comes to an incident with a lot of experience handling extremely complex incidents, whether that’s a fire, hurricane, or a flood,” he added. “In situations where it’s extremely treacherous rough terrain — that’s where you put your ‘hotshots.’”
Scott said firefighters mainly use water to extinguish the fire, but when it’s too dangerous for individuals to approach steep, rocky slopes or dry areas that could spontaneously explode, either helicopters or fixed-wing planes are used to drop retardant or water.
“It’s kind of a balancing act,” Scott added. “Aircraft costs more money than firefighters on the ground, but if it’s a safety issue, you don’t really want to put firefighters there.”
While the exact cause is still under investigation, firefighters have suspected lightning strikes coupled with arid, windy conditions and record-setting heatwaves as likely factors to the fire’s rapid spread.
At 0% containment as of Wednesday afternoon, the massive wildfire situated in Fresno and Madera counties has torched more than 163,00 acres since sparking Friday evening, according to Cal Fire. Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in both counties, which helps allocate additional resources to battle the blaze.
Large waves of evacuations have forced thousands of people from the area as the fire burns on both sides of the San Joaquin River. The flames first erupted near Mammoth Pool, ousting the communities of Shaver Lake, Big Creek, Cascadel Woods, and Huntington Lake from their homes.
The fast-moving fire continues to spread, prompting evacuation warnings for neighboring areas from Cressman - Auberry Road from the top of the four lanes to Powerhouse to the San Joaquin River. Surrounding areas including Jose Basin, Alder Spring, Mono Wind Casino, Mile High, and Meadow Lakes are also affected, while all campgrounds off Minarets Road, Mammoth Pool Road, Beasore Road north of Grizzly Road, Lake Edison Road, and Kaiser Pass Road are closed.
The U.S. Forest Service announced the closure of Stanislaus, Sierra, Sequoia, Inyo, Los Padres, Angeles, San Bernardino, and Cleveland National Forests on Monday. Three other counties are also under a state of emergency — Mariposa, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties, due to new wildfires.
For more live updates, follow The Bee’s ongoing fire coverage here.
This story was originally published September 8, 2020 at 5:55 PM.