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Mendocino Complex Fire: Behind the scenes at the firefighting base camp

The Incident Command Post for the Mendocino Complex Fire provides for all the basic human needs. In addition to food, the post provides facilities for sleeping, hygiene, laundry and other basics.

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For the duration of the Mendocino Complex Fire, a small city of workers will call a pop-up city in Ukiah home.

The Incident Command Post (ICP), as the fire base camp is known, provides for all the basic human needs. In addition to food, the post provides facilities for sleeping, hygiene, laundry and other basics, according to Adrienne Freeman with the U.S. Forest Service.

The Ukiah post divides duties between state and federal agencies, as both share responsibility for responding to the fire. Trailers and tents house everything a person could need to live. There are trailers for sleeping, trailers for cooking, trailers for showering, trailers for laundry, even a trailer full of sinks, mirrors and vanity chests.

Medical care, of course, is an essential component. There are trailers for that as well. Paramedics and emergency medical technicians staff a medical trailer, providing care for a wide variety of conditions, Sean Prouty, a paramedic, told ABC10.

Poison oak is a common complaint of firefighters. Their work takes them into the woods where they come into contact with the plant while cutting it down; which is a good way to spread the itchy plant’s oils around. Although for some, the effects are limited to an annoying rash, others can be so badly affected, it incapacitates them for their firefighting duties.

Bee stings, allergies, dehydration and asthma are among the conditions treated at the on-site clinic, according to Prouty.

Because the command posts are often in rural areas with fewer clinics and hospitals, part of the objective of an on-site clinic are to avoid straining local resources.

“If it’s severe enough, we take them straight to the hospital,” Prouty said.

Prouty and the other medical personnel take satisfaction in serving the firefighters.

“They’re all good guys,” he said, adding that it takes a special person to go into a line of work that is so hot, dirty and dangerous. “You definitely have to be passionate about it. It’s not easy work.”

Whoever said an army travels on its stomach said a mouthful. The "army" that is currently fighting the war with California’s devastating wildfires needs good nutrition for optimum firefighting performance

The baseline CAL FIRE shoots for is 4,500-4,800 calories per day; an amount necessary to sustain the energy expenditure of a day’s work on the line battling wildfires.

“We order stuff by the semi-load,” said Fire Chief Lonnie Levi of CAL FIRE.

Levi is in charge of kitchen operations at the base camp in Ukiah, serving the firefighters battling the Mendocino Complex Fire.

“I think our last load was 900 and some cases,” said Levi.

Roasted chicken, steak, pulled pork sandwiches and western bacon burgers are some recent dinner options. Breakfast is the full spread with eggs, bacon, potatoes, bread, and fruit form the core of the morning meal.

A hefty bag lunch gets firefighters through the hours between breakfast and dinner. The food is prepared by California prison inmates, who take pride in putting on sumptuous spreads. Some accommodation, such as gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options are available.

About 3,000 people, including firefighters, administrators and worker bees live at the camp in downtown Ukiah. The site was chosen because it was big enough and close enough (although not too close) to the front lines of the fires. Freeman tells ABC10 it can be tough, sometimes, to find a site big enough near the fires.

The ICP model was developed after 9/11, and has proved efficacious. The workers responsible for setup have perfected their method.

“Oh, it’s magical,” she said. “It’s a matter of hours going from an empty lot to a completely self-contained city.”

And when the fire is contained and it’s time to move out, workers break it down again, and the city turns back into an empty lot once again, all in ‘a matter of hours.”

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