Firefighters from Contra Costa County Fire Protection District were in Antioch this week training and holding a series of controlled burns in the area between Highway 4 and Canada Valley.
The burns, which should be finished by Friday, have created smoke that impacts Antioch, Brentwood and Oakley. They also have been training with the use of a helicopter dumping water.
The training sessions serve as a duel purpose to first help train firefighters, but also clear vegetation to prevent larger fires later in the summer as every summer they are called out to fires in the vacant field.
“We are conducting a class, ignition operation, teaching them how to fight fire with fire,” said Richard Sonsteng. “We are teaching them out to put fire on the ground and do it safely. how to coordinate with joining forces and save a lot of time and effort later. We are fighting fire with controlled lines. It’s great training for the firefighters.
Sonsteng said its a nice joint effort as the property owner gets the benefit of the weed abatement while firefighters get the training they need.
