Valley firefighters help crews in different parts of California
Thousands of firefighting personnel are working around the clock to handle fires across the state.
TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- California's wildfires are filling the Central Valley air with smoke.
More than a million acres charred by flames.
Ash seen falling from the sky in some areas.
In Kern County, the French Fire doubled in size overnight to more than 11,000 acres in the Lake Isabella area.
And as crews battle for the fourth day, they're feeling the strain of this fire season.
"Each community only has so much staffing for fire suppression support. And so with the larger fires, we call from different agencies throughout the state to assist with what we call strike teams, which is five engines, and an overhead person with a battalion chief," says Joanne Bear with Tulare County Fire.
There are nearly 900 firefighters on the front lines of the French Fire, including crews from Tulare County.
"We definitely want to be there for our sisters throughout the state. At the same time, we continue to keep our staffing levels here in Tulare County in order to assist and be prepared for anything that occurs here locally," says Bear.
Other local fire departments are helping out with suppression efforts across the state.
The Merced City Fire Department shared these photos of its crew assigned to the Caldor Fire near Lake Tahoe.
The team helped with a 10,000-foot hose lay to support a firing operation during the day before providing structure protection at night.
