Volunteers provide help victims of local blazes

Dozens of Newport-Mesa Community Emergency Response Team members worked their last shift with the Freeway Complex fire Friday, after hundreds of hours of helping inferno victims.

While many firefighters returned home earlier this week, the Community Emergency Response Team members, who are volunteers trained to respond to emergencies, have been up in the near Irvine Regional Park since the blaze burned through more than 30,000 acres in four days. Volunteers countywide worked with safety officials on logistical issues and helping families put their lives together, doing simple things like handing out lunches.

The volunteers worked around the clock, in 12-hour shifts and finished their last one at noon Friday, officials said.

— Joseph Serna