This Is What It’s Like to Drive Straight Into California’s Terrifying Kincade Wildfire
The video taken by brave San Francisco firefighters is simply hair-raising.
The Kincade Wildfire in Sonoma County, California has forced thousands to evacuate to safety and has effectively turned wine country into a hellscape. Luckily, that doesn't mean it's every person for themselves, as emergency first responders have worked tirelessly to tame the blaze and rescue those stranded. However, in order to save civilians and attempt to salvage 90,000 buildings in harm's way, crews have had to risk their own lives getting into the heart of the fire. This video just uploaded to Twitter by San Francisco Firefighters 798 shows exactly how dangerous the situation really is.
Firefighters 798 was one of 86 active fire crews in the area as of Tuesday morning. The squad filmed part of its nightmarish drive through an afflicted area, showing both hills surrounding the truck completely ablaze, with debris falling everywhere. The video is said to have been filmed around 3 a.m., proving that first responders are working around the clock to save American lives.
As terrifying as this scene is, there are reportedly 4,548 firefighters in a similar situation and they're currently struggling to control the fire, which now encompasses over 75,000 acres since igniting last Wednesday near Geyserville in Sonoma County. Approximately only 15 percent of the fire has been contained so far according to Cal Fire, and 124 buildings have been confirmed lost, with another 23 damaged. Two firefighters have been injured, one with minor burns and one with wounds severe enough to warrant an airlift to UC Davis Medical Center, according to Fox News.
Over 700 emergency vehicles have been deployed to combat the blaze from both land and sky. Ground forces are comprised of 549 fire engines, which are supported by 42 water tenders and 66 bulldozers, for a total of 657 vehicles. In the air, 27 helicopters fly alongside 23 Grumman S-2T tankers, each which can disperse 1,200 gallons of fire retardant.
