By Rachel Engel
GREENVILLE, Calif. — Wildland firefighters attempting to evacuate residents from the growing Dixie Fire have reportedly had guns pulled on them by residents.
Jake Cagle, California Incident Management operations section chief, talked about the challenges firefighters are facing during a press conference, KPIX reported.
“There is stuff out there that we didn’t want to see,” Cagle told reporters. “Again, talking about the people out there dealing with evacuations. We are all challenged. Law enforcement’s challenged. We have firefighters getting guns pulled out on them because people don’t want to evacuate. That’s just the duality.”
When residents ignore evacuation orders, it increases the danger for firefighters, he said.
“The impacts, the devastation, we understand. That’s why we are here, we are trying to do the best we can. That is our sole intention,” Cagle said. “But again it comes down to life threat, and that’s what we need to manage.”