SOUTH FORK — Earlier this January, South Fork Fire Protection District sent a type six engine to California as part of a massive, first-of-its-kind, state-to-state mobilization to assist with the wildfires in Los Angeles County.  

Seven strike teams were dispatched from Colorado, and "Colorado 1" comprised of South Fork Fire Rescue, Chaffee County, Security Fire department, Purgatory, and Stonewall reached Beaumont California and were assigned to the Palisades Fire.  The strike team spent 14 days on the Palisades Fire, mopping up and holding a critical piece of line that threatened homes along the north edge of the fire. 

South Fork Fire Protection District staffed Engine 7 with four firefighters from the district. Engine Boss Tyler Schmidt, and Firefighters Steve Delaney, Josh Brophy, and Scott Hobbs.   

Working 24-hour shifts, the crew used hand tools and bladder bags filled with water to seek and destroy hot spots that threatened the line. In the later stages of the fire, the crew assisted with fireline rehabilitation, the reopening of hiking trails, and the protection of archeological sites within the fire perimeter.  

The strike team also rehabilitated a dozer line near Topanga Elementary Charter School, providing them with a safe hiking trail for the residents use, and an effective fire break to provide protection from future incidents. 

The team was released and returned to their home units on Jan. 27. 

We are proud of the work they completed, and grateful to have been a part of such an enormous response from states across the country,” SFFPD officials stated.