The flames can be seen less than a mile away from the Incident Command Post of the Cranston Fire at Mountain Center.
The Incident Command Post or ICP is the temporary home for 1,400 fire crews who are battling massive flames that scorched over 11,000 acres.
Lee Beyer is a Public Information Officer with the U.S. Forest Service, he said crews are working to prevent the flames from reaching their camp post.
Beyer said, “What we don’t want that fire to do is to continue to work low across that ridge and get around kind of further to the South-East.”
He said crews have been fighting the flames endlessly.
Beyer said, “We might have folks out there for 24 hours, 30 hours depending on the needs of the fire and what the priorities are.”
But when it is time to get some relief, the fire-fighters report the command post that is basically a mini-city. Emergency crews prepare meals inside the post, fire-fighters also have mobile showers and several sleeping units to escape the heat.
Beyer said, “These really help the folks that are working the graveyard shift because they are trying to sleep in the middle of the day with the heat and the light and all of the activity of the fire camp.”
As fire-fighters try to get some rest from long hours of work, they never forget the task ahead, as the flames can be seen clearly from the command post. But these efforts hit home for Beyer, he had to evacuate his home in Idyllwild only to report for duty.
Beyer said, “I have a couple of friends and neighbors who did loss homes and buildings, but I’m OK.”
Beyer said he expects to be at the Incident Command Post until their fire-fighting efforts are no longer needed.
