Crews from the UC Davis Fire Department have been on the front lines of three wildfires this week, starting with the 900-acre Jackson Fire near Rancho Cordova on Sunday (June 16). 

Fighting that blaze were Capt. Kyle Dubs, Capt. Derek Carthy, Firefighter Jon Poganski and Student Firefighter Kevin Cullen. They returned to campus just after 10 p.m., and by the next morning the fire had reached 100% containment.

On Monday, Brush 34 was back on the road as part of a strike team comprising firefighters from Yolo and Tuolumne counties, headed to the Point Fire north of Healdsburg, in Sonoma County. 

The campus crew on that assignment was Capt. Nate Potter; Engineer Erich Schultz; and Firefighters Gerrit Dykzeul and Cara Martinez. Capt. Cess Mercado also deployed with them as a strike team lead trainee.

As of this afternoon, the Point Fire had grown to 1,200 acres and was 40% contained, according to Cal Fire. More than 200 people had been evacuated as of Monday, and smoke from the blaze led the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to issue an air quality alert.

This afternoon, the strike team including UC Davis firefighters was reassigned to the Sites Fire, west of the city of Colusa. That fire was 10,000 acres and 15% contained as of this afternoon, according to Cal Fire.