From Piedmont Fire Chief Bret Black on Sunday, Sept. 6:
Piedmont’s Type 1 Fire Engine, 2841, was dispatched to the Creek Fire this afternoon as part of Task Force 2012 along with Fremont, Hayward, Oakland and Albany Fire Departments.
Piedmont’s crew (pictured below) is composed of Lieutenant Heliker, Engineer Grace, Firefighter/Paramedic Protheroe and Firefighter Renteria. They will be assigned for up to 10 days, and likely to perform structure defense tactics along with controlling the perimeter of the fire.
This incident is managed by a uniformed command team between CalFire and USFS; the fire is in the Sierra National Forest but immediately threatening numerous communities in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI).
Mandatory Evacuations are in place for the communities of Big Creek, Huntington Lake, Shaver Lake and Cascadel Woods. There are reports of flaming debris, including burning pine cones landing miles ahead of the main fire. More evacuations are pending.
On Saturday night, the California Army National Guard rescued 207 people from the area by helicopter, numerous injuries were reported. The fire burned actively overnight; crews will be challenged today by steep rugged terrain, heavy fuel loading and high temperatures. Additional resources have been ordered including a Type 1 Incident Management Team.
Red Flag warning for East Bay Hills means pack a “go bag”, no outdoor fires of any kind, and keep streets clear
The East Bay Hills, including parts of Piedmont will be under RED FLAG conditions Monday evening through Wednesday. Residents are urged visit https://www.readyforwildfire.org/ and prepare a go bag. If you feel threatened by a wildfire LEAVE….. DO NOT wait for an evacuation notice to leave.
During the RED FLAG conditions, the Piedmont Fire Department will be augmenting our staffing and collaborating with our local partner agencies to enhance our response to any suspected fire related incident. ALL outside cooking and fire pits are highly discouraged; one small escaped ember or spark can quickly start a wildfire in Piedmont. Please remember to keep streets clear so the fire engines can quickly respond in an emergency.
Thank you PFD!! My cousins were up at the family cabin and evacuated this weekend as the Creek Fire was starting to voraciously grow. A ton of personal memories for me for Shaver Lake, Huntington Lake, the ski slope (ahem, perhaps ditching a few days of high school to hit the ski slope too…), really fun times all around this area. Praying for all of the brave firefighters, military pilots that have safely evacuated backcountry campers + hikers + 16 dogs, the ambulance drivers, the deputies, all the feet on the ground and eyes in the sky. Thank you, thank you Piedmont Fire Department!