A firefighter’s perspective of battling the Post Fire

Firefighters continue to battle the Post Fire in the Gorman area that is affecting Los Angeles and Ventura counties. 

The fire has scorched about 15,690 acres and is about 83% contained as of Sunday.

Evacuation orders remain in place for residents near Gorman West of the 5 Freeway near Pyramid Lake.

The hot weather this weekend has created harsh conditions for firefighters who continue to work on putting out the fire. 

“Not only are they fighting through the terrain and carrying 30 to 40 pounds of gear, but they’re also encountering a huge amount of heat. Not only from the weather but also from the fire itself,” LA County Fire Department Captain Marco Rodriguez said.

With the Post Fire, Rodriguez said they started with about 400 people responding to the site and then grew to more than 1,700 personnel. 

He explained that the terrain was so rugged, making it difficult for hand crews to make their way through the hills.

To make things easier, they got onto a boat and traveled over to the front of the fire, Rodriguez explained.

“We know that the last couple years we’ve seen heavy rains, and with heavy rains the growth of brush is gonna be increased,” Rodriguez said. “We are gonna try to mitigate those issues by a fast response and an increased amount of personnel