San Mateo County firefighters dispatched to fight Bootleg Fire

The Bootleg Fire is threatening power supplies, which power officials describe as a “wild card,” a California Independent System Operator said via news release said. A grid warning was issued Saturday covering the hours from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., which enabled it to seek and use emergency assistance.

The fast-growing Oregon fire reportedly came from a lightning strike, and it has already burned more than 76,000 acres since Friday. It’s also affecting transmission lines that extend to Nevada.

The last such deployment from the South San Francisco Fire Department and other county departments came June 30 when a strike team was dispatched to fight the Lava Fire in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The South San Francisco engine returned from the Lava Fire July 6.

“It’s a pretty frequent occurrence,” said Juan Byron, South San Francisco Fire battalion chief.

Four South San Francisco firefighters were sent to fight the Bootleg Fire, and arrived in the early morning hours last Friday, Byron said.

Battalion Chief Brian Metcho leads a team of Fire Engine Capt. Jesse Lange; Giuliano Lavezzo, acting engineer; and Joseph Higgins, paramedic/firefighter.

All four firefighters volunteered for the assignment, which Byron said is the preference for choosing the strike team. The same is true of the team dispatched to the Lava Fire in June.

“Speaking for South San Francisco … this year we have been able to send out people for both times who want to be there,” Byron said.

California residents are asked to cut down their energy use as the statewide power grid is under strenuous conditions from excessive heat of the Bootleg Fire.

On Friday, the power grid operator issued an extended flex alert for the hours of 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday. A flex alert is a request that consumers conserve electricity by avoiding using energy-guzzling appliances like washers, dryers and air conditioners.

“Voluntary conservation has helped keep the electric grid stable during past times of high stress on the grid, including last month when triple-digit temperatures across the West strained the system with higher demand for power,” the California Independent System Operator said in its release.

The [California Oregon Intertie] is not only used to import electricity from the Pacific Northwest to the electric grid managed by the ISO, it also imports power into other grid balancing authorities and the state of Nevada.