As a way of honoring dozens of local heroes, Congresswoman Jane Harman recognized the hard work of South Bay firefighters who spent nearly a week battling wildfires in San Bernardino and San Diego counties at the Hermosa Beach Fire Station this past weekend.

“There were nearly 80 firefighters from the cities of El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and Torrance who left loved ones to race to protect our neighbors in need as fires raged throughout Southern California,” she said. “Many of these courageous individuals are here today.”

Within Hermosa Beach, Capt. James Crawford, engineer Sheldon Osekowsky, and paramedics/firefighters Kim Bridges and Paul Hawkins left their post at the small beach town and traveled to Rancho Cucamonga Oct. 24.

The Southern California wildfires wreaked havoc on numerous cities and are responsible for 20 deaths, including one firefighter. An estimated 730,000 acres and thousands of homes were burned in the blazes. The Cedar fire in San Diego destroyed 272,000 acres, making it the largest fire in California’s history. It is estimated the fires caused $2 billion in damages.

Crawford said he and his three fellow firefighters arrived at a fire station in Torrance, along with firefighters from nearby cities. The crew of about 22 left the South Bay and drove to the Grand Prix fire out in Rancho Cucamonga to battle flames that destroyed 135 homes, according to the San Bernardino Joint Information Center. The estimated damage from this fire is $11.5 million.

“We were out all Friday night at the staging area near home structures. We worked into Saturday evening and they finally cut us loose at 3 a.m. Sunday,” said Crawford.

The men took a break at the nearby high school where they slept for two hours. They then traveled to Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park, an area with more than 2,000 acres of recreation facilities located at the northwestern boundary of Pomona, at about 6 a.m. Sunday and stayed there into the evening.

The crew relocated to the small town of Julian, an hour east of San Diego’s city limits in the Cuyamaca Mountains off Highway 78, Monday and stayed there overnight. The Cedar fire threatened Julian’s historic downtown and eventually destroyed about 400 homes. The large Cedar fire stretched from Julian into cities 20 minutes east of the coastal town of La Jolla in San Diego. According to the San Bernardino Joint Information Center, it was the cause of 14 fatalities and burned 2,232 homes. The estimated damage is $30 million.

“It was a pretty intense experience with the heavy winds and it being so dry. It was hard to see so many houses go up,” said Crawford. “We take pride in being able to save homes in Hermosa Beach and so it really affected us to see the loss of so many homes.”

The crew then held the line along Highway 78 Tuesday, protecting nearby structures. The men took a break at midnight and woke up at 2 a.m. Wednesday morning to fight the blaze approaching Julian’s landmark downtown. Another crew finally relieved the group of firefighters at 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.

Unfortunately, in the event of a brush fire, firefighters don’t wear the typical gear they would in a structure fire that usually consists of a breathing mask and an oxygen tank. The firefighters tried to contain flames that eventually burned through their hoses and destroyed the engine of a Torrance fire truck.

“It’s too cumbersome and too heavy for us,” said Crawford. “We wear lightweight coats, pants and helmets with a shroud cloth that protects our neck so we took in a lot of garbage and three of the four guys had coughs. We were pretty much in the middle of it and we held on until it passed through.”

California is known for its statewide response system where firefighters from all over the state drive to the site of a fire to assist local companies. During the most recent fires, Crawford saw companies from Utah, Arizona and Northern California cities that border Oregon.