2014/2015 Annual Report | Page 26

Moving Forward (Continued) Strike Teams & Hand Crew Respond to Northern California Fires In August 2014, a SBCoFire strike team responded to North Fork, Ca. to the French Fire where they were assigned to structure defense. They were then assigned to the Whites Fire in Etna, Ca., where they had the arduous task of keeping the fire from reaching a historical mining area and nearby community, which is home to a Catholic church built in 1855. The following month, a SBCoFire strike team set out for Placerville, Ca where the King Fire was burning and threating homes and businesses. The strike team was assigned to protect structures known as Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a bar built in 1864 and surrounded by 10 cabins. Firefighters were instrumental in aving all the structures as the fire ripped through the compound shortly after arrival. Both strike team assignments were fought in steep, rugged terrain and consisted of structure defense, cutting line and constructing firelines and fuelbreaks to suppress the fire. DID YOU KNOW? 22 A Strike Team consists of a strike team leader and five engines staffed with 20 firefighters. Often times strike team assignments last a minimum of 14 days. A fire crew of 18 from Hand Crew 6-1 responded to the King Fire for 18 days working to construct fireline. During that time, the hand crew hiked several miles through mountainous terrain carrying heavy backpacks and firefighting tools, where they spike camped for five days. A Spike Camp is usually set up near a fireline, where firefighting personnel are basically on their own in a remote area for several days conducting firefighting operations. SBCoFire is one of 12 Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Regional Task Forc \