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HERRIMAN — Several Utah firefighters, sent to Northern California to help battle massive wildfires a week ago, returned home Saturday.
Eric Holmes is one of about a dozen Unified Fire Authority firefighters who helped contain the devastating wildfires that have burned more than 8,000 buildings and killed more than 40 people.
“My heart certainly breaks for the Californians out there that have suffered and lost so much throughout this,” Holmes said. “It’s difficult to even put into proportion.”
The Utah crews included West Valley City, Draper, West Jordan, South Jordan, Salt Lake City, Pleasant Grove and Uintah firefighters, according to United Fire Authority Battalion Chief Dustin Dern.
The crews' main objective in California was to protect homes and other structures from burning. With the wildfire mostly contained by the end of the week, the crews were free to come back home to Utah.
“It was a pretty amazing experience on a number of different levels,” Holmes said.
After numerous grueling shifts, the firefighters are happy to have made it home safely.
However, if another call came from another state where help was needed, the firefighters said they’d be ready and willing to head back out.
