Community Police & Fire

Local firefighters en route to Los Angeles

Firefighters from Gig Harbor left early Thursday, Jan. 9, to help battle wildfires that erupted in Los Angeles this week. 

Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One Chief Dennis Doan said firefighters Jimmy Dane and Marty Pattin left at 7 a.m. Thursday to respond to the Southern California fires. They arrived Friday morning and were assigned to the Palisades Fire. 

The fires in Los Angeles, whipped by wind gusts that approached 100 mph, had burned nearly 30,000 acres as of Thursday afternoon.

Firefighters from Gig Harbor and the Key Peninsula are on their way to Los Angeles to help with wildfires burning there. Photo courtesy Gig Harbor Fire and Medic One.

The Gig Harbor firefighters are traveling in a Key Peninsula Fire truck with two firefighters from that agency. They are part of a five-engine strike team from Pierce, Kitsap and King counties.

It’s also unknown how long the firefighters may be deployed.

The Washington Department of Emergency Management posted on social media that departments across the state are sending nine task forces, consisting of 45 engines, 11 trucks and 146 firefighters. Firefighters from the Washington Department of Natural Resources also are responding. 

Fire apparatus from Pierce County lined up at a gas station while en route to Los Angeles. They include responders from Eastside Fire & Rescue, South Kitsap Fire & Rescue, East Pierce Fire and the Key Peninsula Fire Department. Photo courtesy of Gig Harbor Fire and Medic One.