July Fourth holiday and a sustained major heat wave equals to more than extreme fire danger in the East Bay this week.
“What we’ve done in the fire service is created something that can go a lot more places and get the fire lines out in rural countryside and four-wheel drive roads and deliver water, personnel and firefighting capabilities,” Capt. Eric Truax with the Alameda County Fire Dept. said.
In addition to the usual array of apparatus at the ready, the Alameda County Fire Department is upstaffing and rolling out new plans including a newly-formed handcrew and volunteers on call.
“One of the best assets we have for a fighting chance is a bulldozer that’s able to eliminate fuel and put up a perimeter,” Capt. Truax said. “In Alameda County, we have three of them. We’re bringing in two of them and upstaffing for this red flag event and the Fourth of July.”
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There are concerns about illegal fireworks.