Firefighters from Montgomery County are among dozens of Texas personnel deployed to California to assist in battling devastating wildfires that have caused widespread destruction and loss of life.
Montgomery County firefighters have joined forces with firefighters from all over Texas to help California fight the dangerous wildfires that have been destroying the state. More than 135 people from Texas are helping with the reaction. Teams from Conroe, North Montgomery County, Needham, and Porter are some of them.
Crews from Montgomery County left on Saturday for a job that will last almost three weeks. Conroe Fire Chief Paul Sims stated that four people and the department's new Type 3 Apparatus would be sent out. The equipment was paid for by a $286,000 grant from the Texas Forest Service in 2021. As part of the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS), the state will pay for all of the engine's costs while it is in use.
The Texas A&M Forest Service runs the TIFMAS program, which gives funds, training, and ways to get people across the state to use local resources. Texas has also sent more than 45 cars, such as fire trucks and ambulances, along with important tools to help fight the fires.
The Palisades Fire, which is the biggest fire in Southern California, has burned over 21,000 acres and damaged more than 12,000 homes, businesses, and cars. Dozens of people have died in the fires, which are only partially controlled. This shows how badly people need help and resources right away.
"We are lucky to have the best firefighters in Texas," said Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough. "Several of them have gone out of their way to help our neighbors in California." "We are so thankful and proud of how hard they worked and how brave they were."
As firefighters work hard to put out the fires, they show how people can help each other and how committed people are to saving communities, even when they are far away.
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