Firefighters are stretched thin as flames rage across California

SectionsTVFeaturedMore from NBC Follow NBC News ALAMEDA, Calif.— Officials and firefighters in California say they are stretched thin battling hundreds of wildfires, many of which exploded across the state in recent days.The problem has intensified as tens of thousands of structures remain threatened and evacuation orders and warnings issued from rural Lake County north of San Francisco to the Santa Cruz mountains on the south. “We were begging for other cities to help us in ’91,” when a firestorm tore through the hills above Oakland and Berkeley, killing 25 people and destroying thousands of homes.Still, he added, “That’s 30 firefighters that normally would be home and off duty who are back in the seats of fire engines.”The San Jose Fire Department has dispatched between 40 and 50 firefighters to help, a department spokesman said, while the San Francisco Fire Department has sent 60 personnel and 13 engines to three fires, according to spokesman Lt. Jonathan Baxter.Baxter said San Francisco is unusual because it has a team of dedicated mutual aid personnel — roughly 400 of the department’s 1,600 firefighters have volunteered to train and fight wildland fires.