Firefighters From Outside Region and State Join Effort

They worked in strange terrain, but their mission remained the same.

Firefighters from every corner of the state, and some from out of state, arrived in Ventura throughout the week as part of a massive effort to support local crews battling the week’s firestorm.

They came from towns such as Albion and Willits, from Markleeville and Truckee. One U. S. Forest Service crew flew in Friday from Hawaii.

Pete Anderson, a 41-year-old volunteer fireman from Jack’s Valley, Nev. (pop. 2,500), drove 14 hours to arrive in Thousand Oaks in time to battle the blaze.

“I’ve never gone this far before,” Anderson said as he prepared to leave for the fire’s front line. “Just last night I was watching all of this on TV, thinking, ‘Geez, I’m glad I’m not there.’ ”

But Anderson and a crew of 16 from the Carson City, Nev., area said they were raring to go.

“Now that we’re here, I feel real good about what we are doing,” he said. “This kind of fire is tougher than what we would ever see, but we’re glad to be able to help out.”

About half of the 2,000 people engaged in the effort to battle the Thousand Oaks blaze come from a range of more than 60 cities in the western United States.

“What we do is call in crews from areas that are not being taxed,” said Alan Campbell, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department. “That allows our county to have some crews available to answer other calls.”

This fire is the largest Bill Hess has helped fight since the Oakland blaze in his own back yard two years ago. The 43-year-old firefighter from Walnut Creek said this fire is an entirely different creature.

“In Oakland, the communities were much more dense. In that fire we had 3,200 housing units,” he said. “In Thousand Oaks, the big problem is accessibility. It is going to be an interesting week.”

Although the out-of-town crews were told they should expect to stay through the weekend, their attitudes remained upbeat.

“I don’t know about everyone else,” said Tim Simpson of El Medio. “But when this is all over, I’m going to Disneyland.”