LEFT : View of the Santa Cruz Mountain Range from Mt . Madonna County Park . ABOVE : The Morgan Hill Fire Department , Cal Fire and Cal Fire / State Responsibility Area ( SRA ) Firefighters stand ready at all times to serve and protect lives and property locally and throughout the state as needed . From left : Scott Killian ; Fire Apparatus Engineer , Cal Fire ( 12 yrs ), Josh Manley ; Engineer Medic , Cal Fire ( 12 yrs ), Kevin Holland ; Fire Captain Medic , Morgan Hill Fire ( 15 yrs ), Alan Schmidt ; Firefighter EMT , Cal Fire / SRA ( 3yrs ), Zachary James ; Firefighter 1 EMT , Cal Fire / SRA ( 2 yrs ), James Ansboe ; Fire Captain EMT , Cal Fire / SRA ( 20yrs ), Jameson Potter ; Fire Apparatus Engineer / EMT , Cal Fire ( 12 yrs ), Andrew Owens ; Engineer Paramedic , Morgan Hill Fire ( 3yrs ), Michael Gil ; Fire Captain , Morgan Hill Fire ( 14 yrs )
Some firefighters emerged from those fires with sobering lessons . EMS Division Chief Shaun Peyghambary of Gilroy ’ s fire department fought in the Gamble Fire , one of many fires that comprised last August ’ s Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit Complex Fires . For three days , he and his team worked with no sleep to contain the fire , only to have all of their progress erased by a sudden wind change . The fire went on to burn hundreds of thousands of acres and spread into Vacaville . Peyghambary learned that not every battle with fire can be won , “ Sometimes when there ’ s that many fires there ’ s not going to be enough equipment to do your job and you just have to do the best you can with what you have .”
For Assistant Chief Good , having friends and family directly affected by the fires taught him to have a greater sense of empathy for what the public goes through , “ I never considered that before and now I understand it and I see it when I ’ m helping someone or a community through a process like this . I kind of get what they ’ re going through
With this year ’ s drought in full swing , many of us are understandably worried we ’ re going to get an encore performance of last year ’ s devastation , and there is ample reason to worry . Limited rainfall and record setting heat set the stage for dangerous conditions in our area . “ We still have this dead growth intertwined with this live fuel model out there and it creates the potential for these massive fires . I hate to say the table ’ s set , but it kind of is ,” explains Chief Peyghambary . Fire departments across California are bracing for a tough year .
Regardless of how tough conditions get , however , the goal of our firefighters remains the same : to protect the people , their homes , and the environment . Their fierce dedication comes from a deep love for their job , their team , and their communities . “ We ’ re always planning . We ’ re always preparing . We ’ re always going to do an awesome job with what we have ,” says Chief Peyghambary . That being said , there are many ways that we can help with these efforts .
Lightning storms aside , both Assistant Chief Good and Chief Peyghambary emphasize that the majority of fires are caused by humans . ( Continued ...)
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