CA National Guard Builds Bridge for FFs

Members of the California National Guard lent a big hand to firefighters in Yolo County this past weekend as they continued battling one of several wildfires burning across the Golden State.

The California National Guard detailed the operation in a July 7 post on its Facebook page, showing through a series of photos and a video the step-by-step process undertaken by the 132nd Multi Role Bridge Company (MRBC) out of Redding as it constructed a temporary floating bridge over Cache Creek.

An existing bridge spanning the creek is not rated to handle the massive equipment firefighters with Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service needed to bring across the water to continue their operations against the County Fire.

"The MRBC’s improved ribbon bridge or ‘float bridge’ created a strong pathway to support more than 40 tons of firefighting heavy equipment like water tenders, dozers and firefighting engines," the Facebook post says.

The post also says the bridge helped fire crews cut down the time it would have taken to get equipment across the water from almost seven hours to one.

“For us, it’s a tremendous help. Not just in support of the fire, but also the cooperation and the willingness to come help us when needed is appreciated,” Cal Fire Deputy Chief Mike Van Loben Sels said in a video interview posted on the page.