TRACY, Calif. –
Defense Logistics Agency Distribution San Joaquin, California, is busy supporting the fight against wildfires, an annual effort that spans several months each year in order to stop the spread of the out-of-control flames that threaten lives and property throughout the nation.
The period known as “fire season” changes each year, but May 1 is typically considered to be the start date for the fire mission team here, said Kevin Cabral, fire mission warehouse supervisor, DLA Distribution San Joaquin. The season usually runs into November, but its duration is dependent upon many variables, including previous amounts of rain and snow during the spring and winter months, how much of that precipitation is retained in the vegetation, and the length and severity of heatwaves. Other factors, such as lightning and strong winds, can either ignite wildfires or help them quickly spread across areas of dense trees, grasses and even homes.
So far in California alone during the 2024 fire season there have been more than 6,850 fires throughout the state that have burned more than a million acres, destroyed more than 1,400 structures, caused almost 20 non-fatal injuries and killed one person, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
California experienced an unusually wet winter and spring this year followed by an especially hot June, which resulted in the vegetation being more susceptible to ignition and fire spread than the state has experienced in recent years. The vegetation is also much denser below 3,000 feet of elevation, which can encourage rapid fire growth during the initial ignition. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection considers these conditions to be indicative of a longer and more intense fire year, especially when compared to the past three fire years.
Currently four major fire incidents are being tracked throughout the state: the Bridge Fire in Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties has burned almost 55,000 acres and is 99% contained; the Line Fire in San Bernardino County has burned almost 44,000 acres and is 97% contained; the Coffee Pot Fire in Tulare County has burned more than 14,000 acres and is 93% contained; and the Shoe Fire in Shasta County has burned more than 4,000 acres so far and is only 8% contained.
Across the entire United States, the current National Wildland Fire Preparedness Level is Level 4, dropping down the morning of Oct. 18 from the most severe designation, Preparedness Level 5.
The United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service reports that there has been a notable recent decrease in the number of initial attacks and large fire growth in most of the western states over the last week. The National Interagency Coordination Center, which serves as the focal point for coordinating the mobilization of resources to wildland fires and other incidents throughout the U.S., is also reporting a significant decrease in the ordering of all resource types and an increase in the availability of all nationally shared resources over the past several days.
As of Oct. 18, the NICC reports 27 current incidents of large fires, with three of those being new blazes. Year-to-date, there have been more than 42,000 wildfire incidents which have burned almost eight million acres total.
Cabral’s team processes roughly 30,000 orders annually, with some orders going to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, but the majority heading to the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. So far this year, the DLA San Joaquin fire mission team shipped out roughly $20 million worth of supplies.
Most of the fire mission materiel is sent to the 16 major and minor caches throughout the year. While the wildfire season doesn’t significantly increase the overall number of orders, there is about a 20% increase in how many of those orders are expedited, said Cabral. This results in a 10% increase of overtime worked by Cabral’s four-person team during the season.
“Most of them have worked here for five or 10 years, just for the fire mission,” Cabral said of his team. “It really hasn’t been much of a challenge for us.”
Although working through wildfire season might not have posed an extra challenge for this experienced team, it is certainly rewarding work and a mission that DLA Distribution San Joaquin takes great pride in supporting.