Running Out of Water: The Battle at Hat Creek
Channel: Cal OES
Date: 02/09/2014

How prepared for a wildfire are you?  Have your created your 100 feet of defensible space? Have you put together your emergency kit? That’s the part of the message of September, Emergency Preparedness Month.
 
The Eiler Fire in northern California gave firefighters one of their biggest challenges in years.  It broke out July 31, 2014, 12 miles southeast of Burney in the Hat Creek area.  By the time it was all said and done, the fire burned more than 32 thousand acres, seven homes, two businesses and another 12 buildings.   Many homes were spared destruction because of their defensible space.
 
Conditions couldn’t have been worse (or better, depending on your point of view): three years of drought had left vegetation extremely dry, primed for ignition from the slightest spark.  Lightning provided ignition overkill, creating a blaze that spread very quickly, burning as much as 15 thousand acres in a matter of hours.  The drought also left water sources non-existent or low for firefighters; so low, in fact, that helicopters couldn’t dip their buckets into it, forcing them to fly much farther to find water.
 
Response to the fires in the North State showed how well California’s Mutual Aid System works, and why it’s a model system for agencies around the country. It brings together crews from local, state, and federal agencies around California for one common goal – save property and lives, and facilitate the recovery process.  And that’s exactly what’s happened.

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