Yosemite blaze gets Valley help

For the fourth time this year, Sonoma Valley firefighters have been dispatched as part of a statewide force – this time, to the Telegraph Fire near Yosemite.
Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue Authority Capt. Sean Lacy, Engineer Medic Les Bender, and engineers Jack Ayers and Eric Padgett left for a seven-day assignment around 3:30 p.m. Sunday in the department’s California Office of Emergency Services engine, SVFRA Division Chief John Franceschi said yesterday. The OES maintains a cadre of engines and crews throughout California, including one in Sonoma Valley
The Telegraph Fire began Friday afternoon and had burned more than 26,000 acres and was only 10 percent contained as of 3:30 p.m. yesterday. Twelve homes and 27 other structures had been destroyed and 2,000 others threatened by the blaze, which was reportedly caused by target shooting.
Sonoma’s OES engine got its first taste of smoke this year on May 22, when crews responded to the week-long Summit Fire near Santa Cruz. On June 11, it headed to Chico for six days, then returned to Butte County on June 22 for 25 days to help fight a series of lightning-struck fires still being contained by firefighters from the western United States and several foreign countries.