SAN JUAN RIDGE, Calif. April 23, 2024 – CAL FIRE Nevada-Yuba-Placer (NEU) hosted their annual Type I Fire Crew Certification Exercises at the Reader Ranch in Nevada County today.
Seven fire crews participated, including three crews from the Washington Ridge Fire Crew Camp, two California Conservation Corps Placer Center, and the California National Guard Task Force Rattlesnake Crew 23, based in Nevada City at CAL FIRE’s Station 20. The Guard stood up the task force in 2019 with 100 soldiers and airmen who served on five, full-time teams alongside CAL FIRE. It now stands at 14 crews with 26 members each.
Chief Estes took the time to explain the various stations of the drill, from inspection to fire drill, the pack test and line cutting. The crews are often deployed during initial attack on fires and are the last ones to leave an incident after mop-up operations are completed.
Captain Nathan Menth demonstrated the latest UAS capabilities during the drill. The drones provide real-time intel to the command staff during an incident. Menth emphasized their certified drone operators work in close coordination with the aerial tactical group over a fire. Any manned aircraft takes priority over an unmanned system.
CAL FIRE has a longstanding partnership with the California National Guard, California Conservation Corps and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide fire crew members on these crews.
CAL FIRE also exercises logistics, operations, and planning functions for this drill, which commits over 250 personnel. “Stakeholders and cooperators are a big part of making this exercise a success. We could not do it without support from Reader Ranch and support from Nevada County elected officials and County Staff,” added Chief Estes.
The CAL FIRE NEU unit provides fire protection and EMS to the unincorporated areas of Nevada, Yuba, Placer, Sierra and Sutter counties. NEU has direct responsibility for fire protection on approximately 1.2 million acres in the State Responsibility Area (SRA) of those counties. The NEU Unit Chief is also the Placer County Fire Chief under a cooperative agreement. CAL FIRE NEU jointly operates the Grass Valley Air Attack Base with the Tahoe National Forest and runs the Washington Ridge Fire Crew Camp.
