News

Actions

Kern County Fire Department in Puerto Rico to assist with Hurricane Maria recovery efforts

Posted
and last updated

Four Kern County firefighters safely arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico Tuesday night to assist with Hurricane Maria recovery efforts. 

The four firefighters are assigned to incident management teams and are tasked with managing disaster support efforts. 

The aftermath of the hurricane left the area devastated. There is little food, no running water and gas shortages in the region. 95% of the island is still without power, making it nearly impossible for friends and family to connect.

Battalion Chief Shawn Whittington spoke to 23ABC over the phone Wednesday afternoon and said they arrived to a lot of structural damage and debris in the city. The little power in San Juan seems to be coming from generators, Whittington said.

"All the power lines look like silly string that's been sprayed around," Whittington said.

Life-threatening flood waters are still plaguing some areas. 

Closer to home, KCFD also has 60 firefighters helping battle wildfires throughout the state.

,

Weather

Daily Forecast

View Hourly Forecast

Day

Conditions

HI / LO

Precip

Tuesday

03/03/2026

Partly Cloudy

71° / 49°

2%

Wednesday

03/04/2026

Partly Cloudy

69° / 44°

7%

Thursday

03/05/2026

Partly Cloudy

65° / 44°

4%

Friday

03/06/2026

Sunny

69° / 45°

4%

Saturday

03/07/2026

Sunny

75° / 47°

1%

Sunday

03/08/2026

Sunny

80° / 51°

1%

Monday

03/09/2026

Mostly Sunny

81° / 53°

9%

Tuesday

03/10/2026

Mostly Sunny

74° / 50°

4%