With one of the most dangerous fire seasons predicted for California, Cal Fire is now calling in the National Guard to help them on the front lines.
On Thursday, Bay Area’s Cal Fire unit was busy training National Guard soldiers to fight fire in the Santa Clara County foothills.
A four-mile hike through the south San Jose hills was just part of the mission for almost 50 California National Guard members. They are learning to become firefighters under the watchful eye of the Santa Clara’s Cal Fire unit.
The new training academy started at Camp Roberts in Paso Robles in April and has now moved to Santa Clara County.
“The cool thing about that is both parties are learning together. Everyday I call it little victories,” said Cole Periera, Santa Clara Cal Fire Battalion Chief. “You’re working as a team. So, if there’s a huge gap in my line, something is going wrong that needs to be fixed.”