SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) - San Diego Fire-Rescue will increase the number of on-duty firefighting crews, staff and fire apparatus in the city because of the hot weather forecasted Friday and through the weekend.
Several years of drought creates significant fuel in the form of underbrush and grass. This fuel, combined with hot temperatures, high winds and low humidity, create conditions which are conducive to easily ignited and fast burning wildfires.
Five brush engines and two water tenders will be staffed on Friday for 12 hours beginning at 8 a.m. On Saturday and Sunday five brush engines and one water tender will be staffed for 12 hours each day.
The brush engines are capable of carrying more than 500 gallons of water and are staffed by a crew of four firefighters each. SDFD water tenders carry 3,000 gallons of water and
provide water supply to fire engines at vegetation fires. Each water tender is staffed by one firefighter.
“Increasing staffing and apparatus allow us to deploy additional resources in an effort to keep fires small,” said Interim Fire Chief Kevin Ester. “I strongly encourage residents to do all they can in advance for what we believe will be a very busy summer of fires.”
To learn what you can do to keep your family and home safe visit sandiego.gov/fire for your personal wildland fire action guide. The Ready, Set, Go! guide includes extensive preparedness information as well as helpful photos and checklists and is available in English and Spanish.
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