Jan 14, 2025
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- Fire departments across San Diego County have been preparing for high winds amid the Red Flag Warning, and the same goes for the hundreds of firefighters on military bases in San Diego. Fire stations on military bases have the same training, but some face more unique challenges than a typical neighborhood fire department. “We’re like a blend between a municipal department and a federal department. We average 200 wildland fires on this instillation, we consume about 15,000 acres. No other jurisdiction really has that," said Chief Chris Hubmer, Camp Pendleton Fire Department. Camp Pendleton has 11 fire stations with 160 civilian firefighters working. They are in charge of the Marine Corps Base's 125,000 acres. Firefighters deploy, more power is shut off ahead of fierce Southern California winds “A lot of the high risk activities that happen here on the base doesn’t really happen anywhere else," said Pete Korodini, Deputy Chief of Operations, Camp Pendleton Fire Department. Camp Pendleton has 156 miles of fire breaks, 40 burn plans to burn areas to mitigate fire risks, hazmat teams, swift water rescue and more technical crews. Fire Chief Hubmer is in charge of determining if the marines can train on base. He uses data and wind from weather stations on base to determine the level of training the marines can do that day. “The higher the fire danger rating, the more restrictions on the marines that train. So right now we are in extreme, which is basically telling the marines they can’t train because of the potential for having a significant wildfire," Chief Hubmer added. Firefighters on Camp Pendleton have to know how to fight fires in different terrains on base, from their 17 miles of coastline, to the city within the base, and to the mountainous desert region, which has no water source. Red Flag Warning issued for San Diego County amid more Santa Ana winds; thousands could have power shut off “There’s no fire hydrants out there, so we’ve got to take all of our tools, all of our equipment, water is one of them," Korodini said. One of their engines is a 6x6, which carries nearly 1,000 galloons of water. He said other departments typically have 4x4 trucks, which carry about half that amount of water. Hubmer said the winds on Camp Pendleton are unlike most areas in San Diego. "We have three microclimates," Hubmer said. He added there is a strong oceanfront breeze, marine layer and a strong desert flow, "we are like in a bowl on Camp Pendleton." But they don't keep their terrain to themselves. Camp Pendleton hosts yearly fire and dozer school for more than 1,500 firefighters from across the state, and sometimes areas in the U.S. “It’s like our SuperBowl," Hubmer said. “Nowhere in the country are you going to get live fire training like this.” Get 40 cents off a gallon of gas at Circle K on Thursday to support wildfire relief in LA Just south of Camp Pendleton is Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Miramar has two fire departments, one consists of enlisted marines serving on the crash fire rescue. Plus the fire department with 56 civilians, which is under the helm of Fire Chief Joshua Allen. Just like other fire departments across the nation, fire stations on base work with other departments for mutual aid, and assist each other to put out blazes. “They come on the base and support us or when we go outside the fence, we support them outside," Hubmer said. That work was put into action on Monday afternoon when a fire broke out near Miramar. Several agencies nearby helped fight the fire. They were already pre-positioned to fight fires because of the high winds, which cut down on response times. “We experienced a small accidental fire that blew up into 28 acres," Allen said. He said it started from construction crews. “During these high wind events, there’s a lot of preparedness that comes ahead.” The marines have a task force of 500 servicemembers that are ready to go, if requested, to assist with the fires in Los Angeles.
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