Contra Costa County Officials Say Advanced Deployment Helped Limit Fire Damage

Firefighting resources deployed in advance of red flag weather conditions and the Public Safety Power Shutoff this past week are being credited by the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District for limiting potential damage.

“As a result of this pre-positioning, as well as other pre-positioned resources around the region, dispatchers were able to immediately fill urgent requests while not depleting firefighting capability necessary to protect other vulnerable areas across the county,” the department said in a new release.

A fire reported about 1 a.m. Thursday in Moraga threatened about 100 homes and prompted evacuations from another 150 homes at a time when winds were high and electrical power was out.

The fire came within 40 feet of some residences, but was contained after burning 50 acres. No structures were damaged.

“The availability of pre-positioned resources was critical to protecting homes and stopping the spread of this fire,” said Moraga-Orinda Fire Protection District Fire Chief David Winnacker.

A fire reported about 3 p.m. the same day near Martinez that was “threatening the vast wildlands in central Contra Costa between State Highway 4 to the north and 24 to the south,” the county department said.

“The grass fire quickly spread to brush, driven by stiff Red Flag winds and aided by very low humidity, prompting a second alarm call minutes later,” the department said.

A county strike team, a fire bulldozer and personnel from several jurisdictions were able to limit the fire to three acres burned.

“Rapid and overwhelming responses of equipment and personnel give us the chance to keep fires small and prevent wildfires from becoming disasters. That’s what pre-positioned fire resources helped us provide across Contra Costa County this week,” said Fire Chief Lewis T. Broschard III, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District.

“The pre-positioning system is absolutely necessary, and it worked as intended this week with the support of Cal OES (the California Office of Emergency Services) and all the operational area and regional fire agencies who participated in pre-positioning resources.”