Firefighters to Aid in Northern Flooding

A 15-member Los Angeles County Fire Department swift-water rescue team has been dispatched to Northern California to assist local authorities whose resources have been stretched thin by the recent heavy rains.

The team, consisting of specially trained firefighters and lifeguards, departed from its Pacoima dispatch facility Wednesday evening and arrived at McClellan Air Force Base near Sacramento early Thursday, said Inspector Henry Rodriguez of the county Fire Department.

The team was not sent in response to a specific incident, but is on standby, he said.

The swift-water rescue team is one component of the California Task Force, the state’s emergency-response system. Its members are trained to conduct surface-water and diving operations and often work under hazardous conditions.

In addition to personal safety gear, the team traveled north equipped with rubber boats and individual, motorized watercraft, said Rodriguez.

The request to deploy the team came from the state Office of Emergency Services, Rodriguez said. The team’s absence poses no safety risk for Los Angeles County residents.

“This team is really just a fraction of the resources we still have available here should we need them,” he said. “The rain here is nothing compared to what they are getting up north.”