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Last 7 Days

Top Blogs

• Acampo woman describes ordeal of being chained to bed, tortured

• After event turned ugly in 2007, rally returns to Tokay High

• E-mails fuel more controversy over Galt senior housing project

• Local crews help fight Santa Cruz County fire

• Airborne assassins: Master falconer shares details of 'blood sport'

• Regional Roundup

February 9th, 2010

• Middle College High School rated one of the best — and a bargain, to boot

• Lodi decathlon boasts top team in county

• Man who sparked counterfeit case pleads guilty

• Local businessman will visit Haiti to look for family

• Man who claimed to be Yosemite Sam pleads guilty to meth charge

• David Harmer seeks Republican congressional nod

• Lack of evidence in case against suspect in 'drug deal' stabbing

• Regional Roundup

February 8th, 2010

• Public Meetings

• Locals pick best, most memorable Super Bowl commercials

• Regional Roundup

February 6th, 2010

• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch

• Meet Larry, Curly and Moe

• Baboon business

• Regional Roundup

• Several Lodi venues let you watch the Super Bowl in style

• Lodi Library celebrates 100 years of serving the community

• Culinary craft

February 5th, 2010

• Kids, teachers help Haiti by collecting pennies for Learning Link

• Lodi, Galt students reach out to help Haiti earthquake survivors

• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam

• Hours of sweat and work go into putting on crab feeds

• Things looking up for state's real estate

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Stray bullet strikes Lodi home; police suspect gang activity may be factor

February 4th, 2010

• Managers at Geweke Toyota answer questions about recall

• Lodi City Council votes to replace play structure at Century Park

• Lodi extends ban on pot shops for another year

• Mokelumne River triathlon set for June

• Family, friends to run half-marathon in memory of Galt family

February 3rd, 2010

• Correction

• Delta College trustees again collide over stipend committee

• Bad bugs, weeds are hot topics at Grape Day

• Lodi-area senators Dave Cox, Lois Wolk admit to gifts; Tom Berryhill case pending

• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts

• Galt City Council avoids budget cuts — for now

• New Lodi Memorial Hospital emergency room opens to the public without a hitch

• Regional Roundup

February 2nd, 2010

• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future

• Correction

• Former Lodian Erica Davis is first paraplegic woman to summit Kilimanjaro

• Regional Roundup

• No snow leopards, otters for Micke Grove

• McNerney leads in campaign cash

• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen

• Big rig plows 7 cars

• Jumpers across California

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (75)
• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
• President Obama's first year (45)
• Many reject the politics of 'no' (45)
• Islamic symbol in mosaic — what is all the fuss? (44)
• Writer comments on Neely column (42)
• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch (41)
• Time to shed the convenient sham of 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy (34)
• We need to conduct respectful conversations (30)
• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam (25)

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Local crews help fight Santa Cruz County fire

Lodi's new state-owned fire engine is having its first big fire mission — it's one of five San Joaquin County fire vehicles battling a blaze in Santa Cruz County.

The call came at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, when state fire crews asked for help to fight the blaze that had started Wednesday at 7:16 p.m. in Bonny Doon. Firefighters and equipment from Lodi, Woodbridge, Stockton, Manteca and Tracy fire agencies formed a strike team and soon headed south.

They spent hours on the fire lines in rugged terrain with no cell phone reception. Shortly before noon Friday, the Lodi crews called in to report that they were moving back to the staging area to get some rest and refill their supplies, said Lodi Fire Battalion Chief Ron Heberle.

How long they will be gone depends on the fire. They are committed to the assignment for 14 days but could come home earlier or be replaced by other area firefighters, said Woodbridge Fire Capt. Darin Downey. His chief, Mike Kirkle, is leading the local strike team.

Such calls are not uncommon in the hot summer months. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection employs full-time firefighters, but they run out of crews when battling multiple fires. Large fires are currently burning in Santa Cruz, near Tracy and in Shasta County, along with smaller blazes.

For Lodi, the one difference from previous years is the engine they took to Santa Cruz. The state loaned one to the city in May, for use locally as well as when called for outside help.

Previously, Lodi sent one of its one engines, but this time they took the state vehicle. Among other advantages, it has a separate engine for pumping, which allows the vehicle to continue driving while putting water on a fire, Heberle said.

How long it will be gone remains to be seen — by Friday night the fire was only 15 percent contained and had burned more than 5,000 acres. Lt. Gov. John Garamendi declared a state of emergency Friday, to try to get federal resources involved.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.