Strike team fighting Caldor Fire pulled because of COVID outbreak, prompting warning
A coronavirus outbreak has left the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection down one strike team as the Caldor Fire approaches South Lake Tahoe.
Cal Fire incident commander Jeff Veik warned other firefighters to follow the agency’s COVID-19 protocols during an operations briefing Tuesday morning, SFGATE reported.
“We lost a whole strike team of crews yesterday, we lost a finance section chief due to [being] COVID positive, so understand, do not come to this briefing without a mask on,” Veik said. “I understand your views are important and I will always respect that as one of our leaders, but you are here at a briefing.”
He added, according to Fox40, that “one more firefighter getting sick could take out our actions to protect the communities and the people that we’re here to serve. What I’m saying is we need every one of you to stay healthy.”
Henry Herrera, a public information officer for Cal Fire, told SFGATE that a “strike team” is made up of one leader, five fire engines and three firefighters assigned to each vehicle. The 16 firefighters will have to quarantine for two weeks. This is the first outbreak associated with the Caldor Fire — no other crews have been impacted by contact tracing, Herrera said.
It’s unknown where the strike team was located, how many cases of COVID-19 the team had, or whether members of the team were vaccinated or not. Cal Fire did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
According to Cal Fire, there are 4,224 firefighters currently combating the fire, meaning that the loss of the strike team hasn’t significantly dampened efforts to contain the blaze. But the agency warns that future COVID-19 outbreaks could create bigger staffing issues at a critical time — which is why face masks are so important.
“Do not give one of the team members — or the folks working on this incident or any of you — a hard time about a mask,” Veik said, according to SFGate. “They’re doing their job. If you’re that upset about wearing a mask, come talk to me please or one of the [incident commanders].”
The outbreak comes after scientists at the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada, published a study that found a link between wildfire smoke and increased risk of contracting COVID-19.
“Our results showed a substantial increase in the COVID-19 positivity rate in Reno during a time when we were affected by heavy wildfire smoke from California wildfires,” Daniel Kiser, a co-lead author of the study published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, told The Sacramento Bee. “This is important to be aware of as we are already confronting heavy wildfire smoke ... with COVID-19 cases again rising in Nevada and other parts of the western U.S.”
The findings seem to substantiate growing concerns among physicians and scientists about the impact of climate change on cardiopulmonary health, according to Kent Pinkerton, an expert on air pollution at the University of California, Davis.
“Hotter temperatures, climate change, wildfires, air pollution, all seem to have some association with a greater risk of COVID-19 cases,” Pinkerton told The Sacramento Bee. “If you’re susceptible to air pollution, such as particulate matter, it could be that you just have a situation where you’ll be also much more susceptible to viral particles that might be in the air that you’re breathing.”
The CDC also warns that wildfire smoke can irritate the lungs, cause inflammation, affect the immune system and make people more susceptible to lung infections, including those caused by COVID-19.
The agency has a page on its website with information on how to prepare for both situations at once, including guidelines on how to tell the difference between symptoms of smoke exposure and COVID-19 and what kind of masks will offer protection from wildfire smoke.
The Caldor Fire is about 20% contained and has consumed 204,390 acres of land over the course of 17 days, according to Cal Fire. Estimates for containment of the fire have been extended to Oct. 13, The Record-Courier reported.
This story was originally published September 1, 2021 at 1:59 PM with the headline "Strike team fighting Caldor Fire pulled because of COVID outbreak, prompting warning."