The Los Angeles County Fire Department Maintains 10 Camps | Crew Responses on Wildland Fires | Outside Agencies | Training Requirements in the Camp System

THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT MAINTAINS 10 CAMPS:

The County of Los Angeles Fire Department operates ten fire camps, strategically located throughout the County, to assist in the suppression of wildland fires, complete fuels management projects and assist with minor building construction projects. The ten camps are able to supply 31 crews on a daily basis; 27 Type I crews and 4 Type II crews. Four camps operate with paid Fire Suppression Aids (Camps 2, 8, 9, and 12), four operate with California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDC) male adult prisoners (Camps 11, 14, 16, 19), one operates with California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDC) female adult prisoners (Camp 13), and one camp operates with County of Los Angeles Probation Department juvenile wards (Camp 15). The Heavy Equipment Unit and Prescribed Fire & Fuels Manager are also components of the Camps Section.

The normal crew strength (Monday through Friday, 0800 to 1600 hours) is 31 crews, but we can staff an additional 6 crews during extreme fire conditions, bringing the crew totals to 37.

Night time and weekend crew strength is 11 crews. During extreme fire weather we can staff additional crews, if necessary and in the past, we have been able to staff all 31 crews within 2 hours.

CREW COLOR CODES

• Paid crews wear yellow shirts, yellow pants and yellow helmets.
• California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation incarcerated crews wear orange shirts, orange pants, and white helmets.
• Juvenile incarcerated crews wear orange shirts, yellow pants and bule helmets.
• Helmet striping denotes the various camps.

L. A. COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT CAMP NUMBERING SYSTEM

To differentiate camp crews and crew numbers, the following numbering systems is utilized:

• Camp number followed by crew number (i.e. 15-4).

PAID CAMPS

• Camp 2 - 1 fire crew -Pasadena. Camp 2 is a helicopter standby location during fire season with a 10-man crew of fire fighters.
• Camp 8 - 1 fire crew - Malibu. A primary paramedic helicopter standby location year around during daylight hours only. The helicopter has water dropping capabilities and can respond with a paid crew of 7 to 8 crew fire fighters.
• Camp 9 - 1 fire crew - Los Pinetos-Tujunga District. Located atop the mountains splitting the Pacoima and Saugus areas. The primary location for our fly crew program. The helicopter has water dropping capabilities and can respond with a paid crew of 7 to 8 crew fire fighters.
• Camp 12 - 1 fire crew - Wayside. Located on the Sheriff's Wayside Detention Facility this camp provides an important resource to the high frequency fire corridor along the I-5 Freeway.

JUVENILE CAMPS

Camp 15 - 4 Crews -Big Tujunga Canyon. As a joint operation with the County of Los Angeles Probation Department, the fire department crew supervisors provide guidance and construction trade training when the crews are not fighting fire.

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION AND REHABILITATION

• Camp 11 -4 Crews - Acton
• Camp 13 -5 Crews - Malibu
• Camp 14 - 4 Crews - San Francisquito Canyon, Saugus
• Camp 16 - 4 Crews - Mt. Gleason, Forest Hwy Tujunga Dist.
• Camp 19 - 6 Crews - East Fork San Gabriel Canyon - Baldy

These camps operated in partnership witht the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, provide a large labor pool to complete a variety of community oriented work projects when they are not fighting fires.

We will not split incarcerated crews to assist engine company perssonel, although we may split paid crews.

You cannot give anything, including cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, to an incarcerated crewmember.

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CREW RESPONSES ON WILDLAND FIRES

1ST ALARM BRUSH RESPONSE DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS*

• 3 Superintendents
• 4 Ground Crews
• 2 Fly Crews (We do not fly crews at night)

2ND ALARM BRUSH

• 1 Camp Section Battalion Chief
• 4 Ground Crews

The first arriving superintendent will assume the position of Crew Coordinator and will report to the Incident Commander (IC).

The second and third arriving superintendents will assume the positions of line supervisors for the crews assigned to that flank of the fire. They will coordinate activities between the crews and division supervisors and inform the Crew Coordinator on crew activities, needs, etc.

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OUTSIDE AGENCY REQUESTS

We will respond the number of crews requested, however we recommend that crews be requested in strike team configuration to insure proper supervision and safety. For fire agencies in the Los Angeles area, inclucing Los Angeles City, Glendale, etc. we recommend 4 ground crews and 3 superintendents.

All outside agency resource requests receive either the jurisdictional Battalion Chief or a Camps Section Battalion Chief as an Agency Representative or Crew Technical Specialist.

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TRAINING REQUIREMENTS IN THE CAMP SYSTEM

1. FIRE CREW SUPERVISOR TRAINING

• 160 hours Basic Foremans Training
  • Includes S-190 - Basic Wildland Fire Behavior
  • Includes S-212 - Wildfire Power Saws
  • Inclueds "B" Faller training
• 30 hours “cold” trail time
• 10 hours supervised “hot” fireline time
• Completion of S-290 Intermediate Widland Fire Behavior
• Completion of Crew Supervisor Task Book
• Mentor program
• It usually takes a minimum of 2 years to get off of Limited “L” status

2. FLY CREW SUPERVISOR TRAINING

• 2 years as a Fire Crew Supervisor and off Limited “L” status to bid a fly crew supervisor position
• Completion of 8 hour Fly Crew Supervisor orientation training
• 10 supervised landings on wildfire incidents
• Completion of Fly Crew Supervisor Task Book
• Completion of S-270 Basic Air Operations.

3. STRIKE TEAM LEADER TRAINING

• 5 years in Camp System as Fire Crew Supervisor
• Off Limited “L” status
• Outstanding rating on previous years performance evaluation in Emergency Work and Supervision categories
• Completion of S-330 Strike Team Leader
• Completion of S-390 Fire Behavior Calculations
• Completion of Strike Team LeaderTask Book

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