Santa Rosa firefighter Brandon Palmer has fought big blazes in his 20 years on the job, but the 81-hour shift he spent fighting the fire storm in his own neighborhood last week was still stunning.
"It's crazy to watch your hometown be annihilated by fire," he said, back at his Santa Rosa firehouse. "It just takes your breath away."
Palmer is one of more than 10,000 firefighters working to control the most destructive group of fires in state history.
Resources from Ventura County have been sent to Northern California to help out. On Wednesday, the Ventura County Fire Department formed a strike team to send, and another strike team was formed including resources from the Oxnard, Santa Paula, Fillmore, city of Ventura and federal fire departments, said Capt. Stan Ziegler, of the Ventura County Fire Department.