Travis Co. ESD No. 2 crew deploys to California to assist in wildfires

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- As devastating wildfires keep ripping through the Los Angeles area, fire crews from across the country are joining in the fight, including some from right here in Central Texas. Firefighters with Travis County Emergency Service Services District No. 2 are in California right now, specifically working to stop the Palisades fire that is about more than 23,000 acres burned.

Travis County ESD No. 2 Chief Nick Perkins spoke with KXAN's Avery Travis and Will DuPree on Friday to give some insight into what the experience has been like since the crew has been in California.

Read a transcription of the interview below or watch in the video player above. Some responses have been edited for clarity.

Avery Travis: We know crews like yours helped make significant progress to contain these fires, really just in the last 24 hours. So what are you hearing from your folks today?

Nick Perkins: Yes, all reports are coming out, like you guys are seeing that we're making good progress on those fires and definitely things are starting to look towards improvement. So, the reports we're getting back the crew that our firefighters deployed with are participating in patrolling structure protection and mopping up fires.

Will DuPree: Remind us about what day your crews from Pflugerville went to California, and also what they saw initially when they got there.

Perkins: So crews left during the weekend, and obviously that's a two-day trip. So driving consistently for two days and then stopping that night when they arrived in California, and then getting an immediate assignment the next morning and going straight to work.

Travis: Give our folks at home a bit of a sense of what your crews were seeing and feeling in those first few days before containment was where it is at now.

Perkins: So obviously, the conditions there are somewhat unprecedented. Obviously, for crews that are used to operating in Central Texas, we just don't see conditions like that, but even from firefighters we're talking to on the West Coast, this is just a significant event, even for the folks that fight and work in those environments regularly.

DuPree: And this is such a physically taxing and emotionally taxing one for any crews, including the ones that you all sent to California there, how much do you all prepare for something like this that could happen in our area?

Perkins: So, the great thing about Central Texas, and here in Travis County specifically, is all of the emergency services firefighters are trained to deal with wildfires. We've been doing it for many decades, so we have that training. It's the same training we see across the country. So, we're prepared for that, and obviously we deal with that here locally, and because we do that, we're able to offer help to other areas. When those calls go out.

Travis: I want to take us back to California. I know folks here have been seeing videos coming out and watching this coverage. Are there any personal stories that your crew has seen, that they've relayed to you that have stuck with you or jumped out, especially as your crews are interfacing with people there and not just the fires themselves?

Perkins: You know, so limited reports on that. But what we have heard is, obviously the firefighters are grateful. There's just a great sense of camaraderie across the country and the firefighters who have showed up to help. It's well received. It's well appreciated by the firefighters, and then obviously by the public there. They know that there are people coming to help them, and there's people from all over the country and outside the country helping as well.

DuPree: Chief Perkins, is it known how long your crews will remain out there in California?

Perkins: This is kind of standard deployment rule. So it's up to 21 days, and that can involve even swapping out crews depending on their workload in the situation and the conditions. But right now, it's as long as 21 days.