Imperial County reports local strike teams deployed to Los Angeles-area fires; officials urge residents to clear combustible vegetation

Imperial County Fire Chief David Lancer told the Board of Supervisors that county personnel have been deployed to multiple Los Angeles-area wildfires as part of mutual-aid strike teams. The deployments include a water-tender assignment, personnel moved from San Bernardino to the Eaton Fire, and two technical specialists assigned to work as liaisons with Mexican firefighters providing mutual aid.

Chief Lancer named participating local departments and thanked the joint effort of Brawley, Calexico, Calipatria, El Centro, Holtville and other Valley fire departments. "We also sent an individual to help staff, for all the operated OES, water tender..." he said during the briefing.

He warned that extreme wind conditions can ground air operations and complicate firefighting. "At that wind speed, air drop just turns into a harmless mist," Lancer said, noting recent 50-to-100-mph winds among extraordinary conditions.

Board members asked about mass-notification reliability after reports of false evacuation notices in other counties. Chief Lancer said cached messages were sent when cell towers returned to service: "Some of the towers were down for a time, and it I guess it caches all those warnings. And when they came back online, it sent them all out." The county partners with the sheriff's dispatch to geographically target alerts and is reviewing the system.

On containment, Lancer provided ballpark figures and cautioned they were subject to change, saying the Palisades incident was in the mid-thirties percent contained and the Eaton Fire in the teens, with progress tempered by expected wind. He urged property owners to remove brush and other combustible materials around homes to reduce wildfire risk.

This was an informational update; no formal action was taken at the meeting.