During Brendan Halle’s work for a fire station in Vista, California, he once spent 21 days away from home at a fire command center while fighting a wildfire.
Halle commuted from San Diego to assist and work as the public information officer trainee at the Sherpa Fire command center at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, which houses local firefighters and crews from all over California.
Community contractors set up temporary support facilities including mobile showers, sinks, restrooms, sleeping and dining areas for the 1,230 personnel working the fire.
“It’s amazing how you can turn a place into a little city,” Halle said. “When you’re out on the line — coming in to see what is on the dinner menu is a highlight.”
Tired, dirty and hungry fire crews are provided warm meals and hot showers after 12-to-24-hour shifts. The school’s gymnasium floor has been transformed into a sleeping area for crews to rest after long hours.
“By the time you do a 12-hour shift, get back and take a shower, there is little time until you have to get up and back out,” Halle said.
The school’s parking lot off Alameda Avenue has been converted into a dining hall with mobile kitchens. Scofield Catering and Management doubled its staff since Thursday night due to more firefighting crews on the scene.
Local companies and grocery stores such as Trader Joe’s have donated fruit, nuts and snacks, said Lori Calabrese, office manager of Scofield Catering. She said fire crews munched on about 20 pizzas delivered Thursday night.
“We have had a number of donations from people who want to support the firefighters,” Calabrese said.
Scofield Catering serves breakfast starting at 5 a.m., where firefighters can get eggs, meat, potatoes and fresh fruit. Calabrese said the full service catering staff is always prepared with enough food for crews. Fresh food is served daily and grilled rib eye steaks were on the menu for Friday night.
“We serve extensive meals because the firefighters have to eat an outrageous amount of calories per meal period,” Calabrese said. “We love supporting them.”
Fire crews stayed busy Thursday night and Friday as gusty winds picked up, and the fire camp has warm showers for them to look forward to, said Larry Selby with A-1 Water Emergency Equipment Rental-Mobile Showers.
The outdoor basketball courts serve as the main hub for shower facilities. Eighteen mobile shower heads and changing rooms with mirrors are stationed and ready for firefighters as early as 5 a.m.
“We accommodate the hours with the firefighter shifts,” Selby said. “It feels good to help. They are happy to come back and get clean.”
The fire broke out at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday in the Refugio Canyon area of Los Padres National Forest and had burned more than 5,800 acres as of Friday night.
Santa Barbara County declared a state of emergency Friday morning and mandatory evacuations remained in effect for homes and businesses in the El Capitan, Refugio, Venadito and Las Flores canyons.
[Click here for the latest story on the fire.]
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
