The Woolsey Wildfire in Southern California erupted Nov. 8 and has cost over $4 billion in damages to the area and destroyed about 1600 homes. As the fire raged on, Frisco Fire Department sent five firefighters, a brush truck and other resources 1500 miles away to Los Angeles and Ventura County.

Having left before the Thanksgiving holiday began, the firefighters were deployed for nine days before the fire was finally contained Nov. 22. For Frisco firefighter Bobby Vickery, it was a great experience to help out the residents of California.

“It was a great opportunity to go out there and help our fellow brothers in the fire service but also the communities that they take care of every day and it was a great honor for me and I’m sure for the rest of the team,” Vickery said. “The fact that the city of Frisco was able to send us,it was a great opportunity for us to get out there. It was a great experience overall.”

Frisco FD was not alone in their effort to assist to fellow firefighters in California’s worst ever wildfire outbreak, as 3000 personnel from around the country made the trip.

“Texas sent a large number of firefighters. I know I’ve seen some from Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and I want to say Washington and Oregon,” Vickery said. “There were a lot of resources and apparatuses sent to help make sure it was put out and extinguished properly.”

With the chaparral landscape of Southern California differing vastly from the flat plains of North Texas, Vickery gained an unforgettable experience unlike any call he has answered before.

“To see the amount of land that the fire was able to spread to for me was absolutely unreal,” Vickery said. “Every fire creates a different experience, but the experiences I gained were in the mountains and putting out fires at several hot spots on the side of the mountain.”