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Yuma firefighters back after battling Caldor Fire

The four City of Yuma firefighters who deployed two weeks ago to assist with the Caldor Fire are now back home.

According to information provided by Yuma Fire Department spokesperson Mike Erfert, the Imperial Valley Strike Team was demobilized Monday afternoon.

The firefighters, who have been in the area of South Lake Tahoe performing structure protection and working on spot fires, began their more than 600mile trip back to Yuma Tuesday morning and arrived at about 10:30 p.m.

The returning firefighters are fire captain Jordan Bowers, fire engineer David Beltran, firefighter Jeff Endres and firefighter Bryan Michaels.

“We are glad to have them back and congratulate them and the rest of the Imperial Valley Task Force on another job well done!,” Erfert wrote.

They will be resuming their regular duty assignments.

On Sunday, Aug. 29, YFD received a mutual aid request from California authorities regarding a task force deployment to the Eldorado Forest in northern California near the Nevada border.

Preparations began immediately and at 3 a.m. Monday an engine and four YFD firefighters left Yuma to meet in Westmoreland, Calif., with the other members of the Imperial Valley Task Force.

As soon as they assembled, they began their trip to the Caldor Fire staging area.

As of Wednesday morning the Caldor Fire had burned approximately 219,267 acres and is 70 percent contained. The fire began at approximately 7 p.m. on Aug. 14th and its cause is still currently unknown.

There are currently 3,010 personnel assigned to the Caldor Fire. It isn’t expected to be contained until Sept. 27th at approximately 6 p.m.

This is the third deployment of YFD personnel to northern California wildfires since mid-July.