The Coronado firefighters who were deployed to Los Angeles a few weeks ago to help fight one of the worst wildfires in California history, finally returned on the evening of Jan. 21.
The crew of four left for the Palisades fire zone around 3 a.m. on Jan. 8 and worked continuously since arriving at base camp, a working site created by the Incident Command post in L.A.
Brandon Ihde, the fire captain, was deployed with Ian Moore, the fire engineer, and two firefighters, Matthew Gamache and Ryan Ortiz, as part of a strike team from San Diego made up of firefighters from San Diego, Poway, National City and Chula Vista.
“Our first operational period, we were on the line for two days straight,” Ihde said. “We immediately got tasked with holding the flank of the fire to its current position as best we could.
“…Our secondary assignment, in conjunction with that, is structure defense. As the fire is burning through neighborhoods, the primary concern is obviously keeping it away from the house – or protecting homes that may be currently starting to catch fire.”
Ihde said there was a lot going on the first few days, mentally and physically. Firefighters are used to the expectation of being up all night and running calls, so they were able to manage that, Ihde said. Once they heard their assignments, they prepared themselves for a long shift.
“There’s just a lot to monitor. You’re monitoring the fire activity, you’re monitoring where you are in your environment, you’re anticipating what the fire might do,” Ihde explained. “And then you’re being given input and orders of ‘Hey, here are the objectives and here’s what we’re looking to do.’”
And in addition to that, the firefighters have to be aware of their own bodies and their needs.
“You’re also pacing yourself because you know that you don’t want to get dehydrated. You don’t want to get malnourished. You don’t want to get burnt out,” Ihde said.
He said that takes a lot of self-regulation, but part of Ihde’s job as captain was also to look out for his crew. He made sure to check in every few hours to make sure his firefighters were eating and drinking water.
And although they were up for more than 48 hours, the stimulation and environment and nature of the job kept the firefighters awake and alert, he said.
“But then, when you’re able to come off the line, there’s definitely a crash that happens,” Ihde said. “When the guys were finally able to lay down, I mean, everybody was just knocked out.”
Seeing the destruction that was happening to homes, structures and people, Ihde said he couldn’t help but feel for the community.
Can you imagine Coronado’s Orange Avenue? And then just imagine that being gone. It was hard not to reflect on the level of devastation and knowing that multiple people have lose their lives in that fire.
Fire Captain Brandon Ihde
“Can you imagine Coronado’s Orange Avenue? And then just imagine that being gone,” Ihde said. “It was hard not to reflect on the level of devastation and knowing that multiple people have lost their lives in that fire.”
Even through that, Ihde said the surrounding residents showed them so much gratitude, courtesy and hospitality.
Ihde and his crew were able to save multiple homes and meet the homeowners of one the homes they saved. “They were just incredibly grateful and they were just amazing … So, that’s an amazing experience,” Ihde said.
Coronado firefighters have also been deployed and providing aid to fires all around San Diego, including a south Chula Vista fire last week and a San Ysidro fire on Jan. 24.
