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Mountain Rim Fire Safe Council
Wildfire Prevention & Preparedness Seminar
By Scott Limpus
October 11, 2019
The Mountain Rim Fire Safe Council (MRFSC) recently hosted four community wildfire prevention and preparedness seminars. Events were held on August 14th at the Hootman Center in Running Springs, August 28th at the Mountain Communities Senior Community Center in Twin Peaks, October 2nd at Rim High School, and October 9th at the Lake Gregory Education Community Center.
The seminar included booths from various fire, law enforcement, and community services organizations who had representatives available to discuss fire safety with community members, including the United States Forest Service (USFS), California Department of Fire Protection & Prevention (CalFire), San Bernardino County Fire Department (SBCoFD), San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department (SBSD). California Highway Patrol (CHP), Southern California Edison (SCE), American Red Cross (ARC), and the National Oceanic & AtmosphericAdministration (NOAA).
San Bernardino County Second District Supervisor Janice Rutherford MC’d the panel discussion with representatives from local emergency response agencies, NOAA, and SCE.
NOAA began the panel discussion on the fire weather possibilities for the remainder of the current fire season, which could last until the Spring. After last year’s above average winter, a warmer and drier-than-average summer, along with the weak Monsoonal moisture, has caused the significant vegetation growth in the Spring to become dry fuels in the summer. And this winter is expected to be warmer and drier-than average as well. Winter storms are expected to be less frequent and shorter in duration.
First Responders each provided an update on their responsibilities and capabilities during a local wildfire. Several important comments that were echoed by all the agencies is their ability to work together, the need to sign up for emergency notifications, and the importance of evacuating when ordered.
SCE finished the panel discussion with an update on their infrastructure upgrade and possible rolling blackouts. In addition to the on-going work to reinforce power lines and install new power poles, 45 additional crews will be working though the rest of the year to remove nearly 3,000 dead or dying trees that have been identified as being a risk of falling into power lines. They also discussed the possibility of rolling blackouts during high wind events to prevent possible wildfires.
If you missed any of the seminars, each of the participating agencies and organizations have websites to help residents prepare for and respond in the event of a wildfire.