San Jose firefighters returned Friday from fighting the blazes that have raged across Los Angeles County. The crew was there for a little over a week and spoke of the destruction they witnessed and the gratitude of the people they helped. “With the multiple wind events that were going on in Southern California and the red flag warnings, we didn’t want embers to pick up and start other fires, so that was our main concern for the first 2 days we were on the fire,” said Dennis Bell, battalion chief of the San Jose Fire Department. San Jose crews were tasked with battling the Eaton Fire, which destroyed parts of Altadena. Both the Palisades and Eaton fires killed at least 27 people and destroyed more than 1,200 structures. “This is a department that has been challenged by low staffing levels, the pandemic, and plenty of challenges, and yet they show up every day,” said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. Bell said that as crews return home, one of the biggest things they’re thinking about is the devastation caused by the fires. “People [are] losing everything, so I think that was the biggest thing for us as a group. I’m definitely noticing how much destruction there was,” he said. But what has also stuck with the crews is the gratitude shown to them. “Not only were the other fire departments very thankful that we were there, but even the community and the citizens really rallied around the fire departments,” Bell said.