A four-man crew and engine from the Carson City Fire Department are in Southern California to help battle a series of five fires there that have scorched more than 44,000 acres from Santa Barbara to Anaheim and destroyed at least 1,000 homes.
Assistant Fire Chief Tom Tarulli said Capt. John Arneson, and firefighters Jason Danem, Jon Pedrini and Travis Boggs left on Sunday for a two-week stint to fight the Freeway Complex fire in Orange County that has already claimed 113 homes.
"One state calls another state, and we have a rep here in this state who calls all the local fire stations and asks if anyone here wants to go. We said we would," explained Tarulli.
Tarulli said it's common for surrounding states, especially with a interstate agreement like Nevada and California, to send aid in incidents such as these.
"We watched the fires closely. We can see when the (California crews) start getting inundated. We prepare for the calls. We know they are coming," he said.
The Carson crew's salaries are paid for by the California Office of Emergency Services.
Service in Carson City is not affected, he said.