Santa Clara County firefighters battling Wine Country blazes

More than two dozen Santa Clara County firefighters were deployed Monday morning to the Wine Country wildfires, as part of the statewide mutual aid agreement. Fire officials say there are still plenty of firefighters and engines remaining on duty locally in case they’re needed here.

The firefighters formed a five-engine “strike team,” public information officer Luisa Rapport said.

The five engines that were deployed are from Los Gatos’ Shannon Road fire station, as well as Saratoga, Cupertino and Los Altos fire stations.

“This particular team is a Type 3 Strike Team, which means these are wildland fire engines,” Rapport said. “We also have three other individuals who went to the Tubbs and Atlas fires as support personnel; they’re working as dispatchers and on mapping.”

Rapport did not know how long the local firefighters would remain at the fires, but she said locals need not worry about staffing and equipment.

“We staff behind the individuals who are gone,” she said. “We also have wildland engines that are kept in-county and available for service.”

Rapport said the fire department noticed an uptick in calls on Monday from people inquiring about the smokey air quality, but did not see an increase in calls for service due to poor air quality.

A Bay Area Air Quality Management District spokeswoman said Monday that air quality in the region was at poor levels “very, very rarely seen in the Bay Area.”