El Paso County firefighters help battle California wildfires

More El Paso County firefighters are heading to fight wildfires in Northern California.

They are replacing a group that arrived earlier this month to battle a massive fire in Gasquet, California, near the Oregon border.

“We are sending four firefighters to California to switch out with fire crews that are already there,” said Rick Griswold, one of the firefighters heading West. “California has exhausted all their available resources, so they reach out to to other agencies and try to bring in the closest available.”

Haze from Pacific Northwest fires has made its way to Colorado Springs. It has been visible in the Pikes Peak Region for several days.

“That takes a lot of smoke. Thousands, and thousands and thousands of cubic miles of smoke,” said Scott Campbell, fire management officer for the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.

Fire crews in Southern Colorado are able to offer more resources because there’s been a moderate fire season in the area.

“We’ve had an extremely wet season, so our fire activity locally has been reduced,” Griswold said. “It’s a different story in Northern California.”

The firefighters will be working 16-hour shifts for the next two weeks.

If there is still a demand for resources, additional El Paso County firefighters could be sent to California.

Local firefighters said they are happy to help but they know the battle isn’t over.

“This fire season has seen a lot of tragedy on different incidents in the United States,” Griswold said. “On the forthright of my mind is keeping everybody safe and bringing everybody home.”