Several Houston firefighters will spend Thanksgiving in El Paso, away from their families as they continue to battle the coronavirus.
Seven members of the Houston Fire Department and several other first responders from surrounding fire departments were dispatched to El Paso in late October to assist local authorities with fighting the spread of COVID-19. El Paso has seen a spike in cases in the last few months, eventually garnering 82,809 total cases as of Tuesday, according to the El Paso Times.
Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña told Chron that the firefighters will be deployed through Dec. 1, meaning they will be there for the Thanksgiving holiday. While many of us forgo seeing distant family this holiday, we are at the very least allowed to see nearby loved ones in our immediate family and those within our "quarantine bubble."