Local Urban Search and Rescue team staying prepared for all weather possibilities

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- In preparation for any sort of bad weather event, a local Urban Search and Rescue team, also known as USAR, is ready for any disaster in our region.

USAR's Regional Task Force Five consists of 30 people from different agencies -- including Fresno Fire, CAL FIRE, City of Merced, Clovis and Tulare fire departments.

These highly skilled and certified firefighters are based out of Fire Station eleven in Fresno, along with all of their equipment to help save people during disasters such as the Creek Fire, which left a large burn scar that took away vegetation to hold the soil together.

Because of the recent rain flow, the USAR team pre-staged its resources in anticipation of debris flow and mudslides.

"In preparation for those to get resources ready, so we are not reacting after the incident has occurred, we are prepositioning resources ready to respond to shorten our response time and make us more efficient as we get into the area to save lives and property," says USAR Member Captain Justin Moore.

Over the course of years, this regional task force out of Fresno has been deployed to Montecito Mudslides, Ridgecrest and NAPA earthquakes, wildland fires, and more.

While some of these events are may not happen often, the captain says they are high impact and high risk to communities.