Driving Into Hell: Bay Area Firefighters Answer Call For Help

BUTTE COUNTY, CA - In the Sierra Nevada mountains, some 70 miles north of Sacramento, an epic battle is underway to save a forest and its inhabitants - the animals, birds and humans who call this strikingly beautiful area home.

Already, 37 structures have been destroyed with another 5 damaged. Mandatory evacuation orders have sent thousands of people scrambling with their families, animals and the treasured possessions they could gather. Other residents under evacuation warnings prepare to flee.

But as people and animals race away from flames, there's another migration underway - a coordinated influx of firefighters and equipment answering the call for help. Where other flee - they advance.

Their work is not without danger. Cal Fire reports four injuries in this fire, without elaborating on the circumstances.

The firefighting effort is formidable. Some 1700 firefighters, 181 fire engines, 16 water tenders, and 28 dozers are on the ground. While in the sky, air tankers and helicopters do their part. The Wall Fire has burned 5,800 acres and is 45 percent contained.

An important component of this firefighting army are the mutual aid teams who converge from the Bay Area and elsewhere in the state. The photos here are from the Alameda County Fire Department, with members assigned to Strike Team OES 2870C.

While these local firefighters are manning hoses in Butte County, others are ready to answer the call here at home or at another wildfire. Right now, more than a dozen wildfires are burning in California.

Watch: 3,500 Remain Evacuated From Santa Barbara Fires

-Images via Alameda County Fire Department

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