Note: Dedication of Highway 243 Friday for Fallen firefighters

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Note: Dedication of Highway 243 Friday for Fallen firefighters

Highway 243 dedicated to fallen Esperanza Esperanza wildfire firefighters Friday in Poppet Flats

A 30-mile stretch of State Highway 243 between Banning and Mountain Center will be officially dedicated as the Esperanza Firefighters Memorial Highway in a special ceremony Friday.

State Assemblyman John J. Benoit will speak at the public dedication, set for 10 a.m. at the Silent Valley RV Club in the small mountain community of Poppet Flats.

That's near where five U.S. Forest Service firefighters based in Idyllwild were overrun by the Esperanza wildfire on Oct. 26, 2006 . Four died at the scene; the fifth five days later.

Benoit, R-Bermuda Dunes, last year authored Assembly Concurrent Resolution 4, which formally dedicated Highway 243 in honor of the five firefighters of Engine Company 57— Mark Loutzenhiser, Jess McLean, Jason McKay, Daniel Hoover-Najera, and Pablo Cerda.

"While the Esperanza Fire died out a year and a half ago, the memories and sacrifices of the five firefighters who perished that day will live forever,"
"We shall always remember the courage of our firefighters who put their lives on the line to protect us."
"Dedicating this highway will remind motorists along the route of the crew of Engine Company 57 who selflessly sacrificed everything to defend lives and property,"
Benoit said.

The Owen Coffman American Legion Post in Palm Springs first originated the idea to designate the highway in memory of the fallen firefighters. The 30-mile stretch of highway between Banning and Mountain Center will carry the designation, with memorials on both ends provided for by a $3,700 donation by the American Legion Palm Springs Post.

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Thursday, May 8, 2008