RIO RICO, Ariz. (KGUN) — The wildfires in California were so severe, firefighters from all over the country poured in, including firefighters from Southern Arizona. Now some of the firefighters from Rio Rico are back and talking about their experiences.
“You’ve got fire in front of you. You’ve got fire behind you. And you just gotta be aware of what's going on, and just look around and and and make sure that everybody, not only yourself, but everybody around you, is safe.“
When the call for volunteers came Captain Albert Ibarra and three other Rio Rico firefighterrs grabbed gear for wildland and structure fires. He says the California fires were both.
Ibarra says there were some homes they could not save but there were plenty they did.
“It's very satisfying in the sense that you get to save people's homes and property. And it's satisfying, not only to them, but to us, that we did something positive, but at the same time, there's that negative side when you see everything that was lost with people's not only cars, houses, but also property of sentimental value that it'll never be replaced.”
Ibarra says the Rio Rico crew was in California just as the Eaton Fire flared up, so they went to work on it. He says in sixteen years of firefighting he’s never been in a fire so rough.
But he says the crew learned a lot they can apply to fighting fires here at home.
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
