San Francisco firefighters are on the front lines of one of the most destructive fires ever in California — a blaze that has killed about a dozen people, burned well over 12,000 buildings, prompted sweeping evacuations in and around Los Angeles, and remains barely contained.
The San Francisco Fire Department on Saturday counted 31 staffers dispatched to fight the blazes tearing through Southern California, according to Capt. Jonathan Baxter.
Another eight are deployed to search-and-rescue efforts.
Media in Los Angeles was receiving progress updates from LAFD PIOs when we noticed some familiar faces in the background!#yourSFFD is on the scene in LA, filling in where they need us.
— SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA (@SFFDPIO) January 9, 2025
We remain at full staffing back home. pic.twitter.com/JokwHTbSMa
In all, 39 SFFD firefighters were sent Tuesday — the second day of the fires — on a two-week deployment that puts them alongside several thousands of other first responders from all over California and beyond.
Eight #yoursffd firefighters have joined in the @catf_3 deployment to Southern California to help with the Incidents and Emergency issues.
— SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA (@SFFDPIO) January 11, 2025
SFFD MEMBERS ON RESPONSE:
Josh Davis – Canine Search Specialist
Gareth Miller – Canine Search Specialist
Robbie Potter – HazMat… pic.twitter.com/0CqguYIXQI
Firefighters who work beyond their jurisdiction enlist themselves for the service, Baxter told The Standard, and that requires annual, state-certified mutual-aid training.
The fires rank as some of the most damaging ever in California.
The 2018 Camp fire torched upward of 18,000 buildings as it raced across 153,000 acres.
The Tubbs fire in 2017 leveled 5,600 structures in Napa and Sonoma counties.
Twenty-six years before that, the Tunnel fire destroyed a few thousand homes in the Oakland Hills.