Tracy Press

 
Tracy Fire Department sends eight firefighters to the Telegraph fire in Yosemite National Park.

A guide plane leads a fire retardant plane near the leading edge of the Telegraph fire, left, in an attempt to slow its progression up Halls Gulch toward Greeley Hill on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Al Golub)

Tracy Fire Department has sent eight firefighters from two strike teams to fight the Telegraph fire, which has consumed more than 32,000 acres outside of Yosemite National Park.

Engine 94, consisting of Capt. Pat Vargas, Engineer Kevin Meineke and Firefighter Jeremy Ward, has been assigned to a division in the Merced River Canyon in the Indian Flat area. The team is actively fighting the fire, which is in its sixth day today, and is expected to return to Tracy Saturday.

The Operational Emergency Services team made up of Capt. Phil Somerhalder, Engineer Ryan Gall, Capt. Scott Arganbright and firefighters John Bell and Laura Hernandez are in a staging area near Chowchilla waiting for orders.

“Everybody is doing fine,” Tracy’s Division Fire Chief Andy Kellogg said today. “We have no injuries and no damaged equipment. Everyone who has been sent has plenty of experience fighting wildfires.”

The local firefighters join 3,800 others in battling the blaze. The fire has consumed 21 homes and 33 other structures, as reported by the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and is considered to be 40 percent contained as of mid-morning.

Ground crews, together with 15 helicopters and a dozen air tankers, have so far fought the fire at a cost of $13.9 million.

The Tracy Fire Department is reimbursed by the state for its contributions fighting the fire.

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written by scoresman , July 30, 2008

Where is Havi? He must be pulling his hose somewhere!

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written by maybenotdumBcommenT , July 31, 2008

Will you guys be careful? Our family will pray for you all to be safe.