North Bay Firefighters Head to Malibu to Battle Massive Blaze

Four San Rafael firefighters are among more than a dozen Marin fire personnel who are on their way to Southern California to help control the Ventura County Springs Fire that has reached the Pacific Ocean and is nearing Malibu.

The fire started near Camarillo, 50 miles north of Los Angeles. It has burned 10,000 acres and threatens 2,000 homes. For live updates on the fire, .

Personnel at Cal Fire Napa County said they had no word Friday on whether any Napa-area firefighters were en route also. Firefighters in Napa and Sonoma counties have had their own blazes to fight in recent days.

which touched off Wednesday evening, was particularly difficult.

Meanwhile, Mill Valley Battalion Chief Mike St. John is serving as the strike team leader of the group, which includes firefighters from Kentfield, San Rafael and Marin County Fire as well as four fire engines owned by the California Emergency Management Agency and operated by local Marin agencies, only to be used as backup engines or for situations like this, St. John said. The group also includes one engine from San Francisco.

California firefighters are also battling wildfires in Sonoma and Napa County, which have been sending smoke into the Bay Area and creating hazy skies.

The San Rafael Fire Department is still at full staffing despite the strike team that has left, according to San Rafael Fire Chief Chris Gray.

“We will not be sending out any additional firefighters due to local conditions, and apparatus/personnel limitations,” he said. 

It has been a busy week for San Rafael firefighters, who extinguished four grassfires in a roughly 24-hour window. One of the fires, which burned vegetation and straw surrounding a backyard chicken coop in Gerstle Park, has been labeled as “suspicious” and is under investigation. Fire officials said cigarette remains were found at the scene of the blaze.

In an unrelated incident, the produce fridge at Mi Pueblo caught fire on Thursday morning and market employees evacuated the building before extinguishing the fire. 

As this week’s heat wave continues, Gray said fire danger remains “severe” in Marin.

Tips from the San Rafael Fire Department to avoid fires:

• Report any sign of smoke or fire immediately to your local fire department by calling 9-1-1 (if you call 9-1-1 from your cell phone, please try to know the location of where you are calling from).
• Use extreme caution when operating any machinery or equipment in or near hazardous grass or brush areas.
• Any mowing or weed eating should be done before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m.
• Never use lawn mowers in dry vegetation (and NEVER during extremely dry conditions).
• Spark arresters are required in wildland areas on all portable gasoline powered equipment.
• Residents should make sure they have 100 feet of defensible space around structures.
• Clear dead weeds and vegetation.
• Remove leaves and needles from gutters.
• Trim branches 6 feet from the ground.

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