The morning of Wednesday, November 6th, found most of us in our normal weekday routines. Kids were in school. Their parents were at the office. Some were simply enjoying a morning inside their home to escape the high winds and the red flag warnings that the National Weather Service labeled as “a particularly dangerous situation.”
No one who lived through the Thomas Fire in 2017 was ignorant to the damage those winds could cause. Still, we carried on with our mornings. After all, there were meetings to attend, errands to run, and to-do lists to tackle.
It’s safe to say that when news spread that a fire broke out on the mountainside in Somis that morning, we all held our breath. And though many of us experienced firsthand how quickly the Thomas Fire ravaged through communities, there is no way we could have been fully prepared for the minutes, hours, and days ahead.
Trying to capture the devastation so many Ventura County residents experienced from what became the Mountain Fire, and the impact that devastation has had and will continue to have, is nearly impossible.
In the middle of that devastation are the footprints of the first responders who worked in some of the worst possible conditions to save lives and save homes that the fire had yet to reach. And on the hillsides covered with burn scars are the remnants of the phos-chek drops by the aerial defense operations that flew almost around the clock until containment of the fire was under control.
Based at Camarillo Airport since 1971, the Ventura County Aviation Unit was literally in the backyard of the Mountain Fire. High winds made it difficult for aerial defense operations, but the Unit was still able to complete water drops, essentially flying through the entire first night to battle the flames.
Eventually joined by countless additional resources including Cal Fire, Coulson, and Santa Barbara, Montecito, Glendale, Orange County, and Burbank fire departments, containment of the fire, which burned nearly 21,000 acres, went from zero percent Thursday to 26 percent by Sunday.
Seventeen aircraft were on hand at Camarillo Airport at the peak of the fire with aerial defense depending solely on helicopters. Conditions were simply too unsafe for fixed wing aircraft to fly. More than 2,200 emergency response personnel were both on the ground and in the air. The Ventura County Aviation Unit alone performed 300 water drops, which equates to 200,000 gallons of water. The high frequency of the drops, and the quick turnaround time of each aircraft between drops, was made possible by the close proximity of Camarillo Airport, which closed for the incident to become a full-fledged aerial defense response base for five days.
Having Camarillo Airport as a resource is a “game changer,” according to Ventura County Fire Battalion Chief, Nick Cleary, who served as Operations Chief for the Mountain Fire. He added that the logistics of having to move aircraft to a different, more distant airport to refuel, repilot, and maintain aircraft would have resulted in a significant loss of time.
“Camarillo Airport has been a fantastic resource,” said Ventura County Sheriff Sgt. Kelly Roark. “Quick turnaround for aircraft involved in firefighting is critical for public safety. Having a safe and secure location for personnel assigned to those aircraft is also very important.”
While the wildfires in Ventura County have made headlines nationally, it’s really the community’s response that is the story. The calls to action that are answered without hesitation. The doors left open for those who lost their home. The shelters that became available for animals. The clothing and food donations. The hand drawn thank you notes to firefighters from the child whose home was saved. And the simple act of a hug when you aren’t even sure yet of what it is you need.
Many of those stories will remain unknown. What we do know is that amid the uncertainty of a wildfire in Ventura County lies the certainty that a team of highly trained first responders is nearby to provide the sense of relief we all felt that first night of the Mountain Fire as we watched rig after rig drive toward the fire and heard the continuous hum of helicopter after helicopter providing aerial support.
In the end those affected most are neighbors, family members, colleagues and friends. And they are also the first responders who are on rigs or who are flying to stop a fire that robbed them of their own home.
The Department of Airports is a proud partner of the Ventura County Fire Department, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and their collaborative effort to make it possible to have a locally based aviation unit. To learn more about the Ventura County Aviation Unit, visit venturasheriff.org.