Bay State aids Calif. in fighting wildfires
Specially trained team is deployed
A team of 20 state and local firefighters is being sent to California for two weeks to help battle the wildfires that have torn through 700,000 acres in the northern part of the state in the last month.
The firefighters, from Springfield to South Dartmouth, have been trained in the firefighting techniques needed to attack the type of wildfires that continue to ravage the region since they began last month, with 24 fires still considered not contained.
The team, known as a "Type 2 Hand Crew," will work on the front line in the mountainous region, trying to stop fires before they begin or spread by digging down in the soil and burning off any fuel before it becomes part of the bigger fire.
"We're the ground-pounders; we're the ones you see walking hills scratching line and digging the dirt," said Mark Teixeira, a forest firefighter with the state Department of Conservation and Recreation. Teixeira, a firefighter for 33 years, is the boss of the crew being deployed today.
The DCR is sending 15 of its own firefighters and five municipal firefighters from across the state as part of its partnership with the National Interagency Coordination Center in Boise, Idaho. The center manages the deployment of support teams to fire disasters across the country.
Teixeira, of South Dartmouth, has been with the Massachusetts crew since the partnership began, helping to control wildfires in the Rocky Mountains and the Cascade Range.
Teixeira said he has used the experience to improve forest-firefighting methods in Massachusetts, working with nature conservancy groups to develop fire prevention and warning systems.
He also said the deployments provide the type of experience that made him want to be a firefighter in the first place. He has been in wilderness areas where, he believes, no human has been before. He has seen black bears in the wild and saw the paw print of a grizzly bear.
"We've had a lot of exciting times with fires, both good and bad," he said. But, "there's nothing like waking up and watching the sun rise over the Cascades or the Rockies."
Firefighters have been able to control most of the fires in Northern California, but 24 continue to rage.
The Massachusetts team will be replacing crews that have been battling the fires, which could burn throughout the summer, said Ron DeHart, information officer with the National Interagency Fire Center.
Milton Valencia can be reached at mvalencia@globe.com. 