LAKE COUNTY – Local firefighters are on their way home a week after having been dispatched to Southern California to aid in the fight against the region's wildfire.

On Oct. 22, a team of five engines – one each from Lakeport Fire Protection District, Northshore Fire Protection District, Lake County Fire Protection District, South County Fire Protection District and Mendocino County's Anderson Valley – and 14 firefighting personnel reported for duty in Southern California, as Lake County News reported last week.

The group was assigned to the Lake Arrowhead area, where they helped protect homes, Lakeport Fire Protection District Chief Ken Wells reported last week.

On Monday afternoon Wells said the contingent was released from duty and by 2 p.m. were on their way home from Victorville.

Wells said he wasn't sure if they would stop along the way to rest or push to drive straight home.

The firefighters are returning home with “no injuries whatsoever,” said Wells.

“They'll probably have some nice stories when they come home,” he added.

On Monday Cal Fire reported that a total of 517,797 acres burned across San Diego, San Bernardino, Orange, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Riverside and Ventura counties.

Five fires are still burning as of early Tuesday morning, including the Witch, Harris and Poomacha in San Diego County, the Slide Fire in San Bernardino County and the Santiago Fire in Orange County.

Last week, in response to the severe fire conditions in Southern California, Cal Fire reopened Northern California's fire season, which allowed the agency to retain seasonal firefighting personnel to both respond to the southern wildfires and keep the northern areas staffed.

As of Monday, Cal Fire had not changed fire season's open status.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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