LA HONDA: Wildland Urban Interface and Evacuation drill

Monday, July 16, 2012

LA HONDA: Wildland Urban Interface and Evacuation drill

Local Emergency Responders Train on Wildfire and Evacuation
LA HONDA FIRE BRIGADE NEWS RELEASE

WHAT: The community of LA HONDA FIRE BRIGADE will be the host of an area-wide Wildland Urban Interface and Evacuation drill this coming Saturday, July 28th.

WHEN: The drill will start at 8:00 am. The scenario for the drill involves a fast moving wildland fire making contact with multiple homes simultaneously. The training will test the firefighters’ abilities to organize, rapidly deploy and control an urban interface type fire. In addition, it will help the ability of disaster preparedness agencies to notify, activate, mobilize, deploy and operate during a fast moving wildfire.

Over a dozen local residents have agreed to allow their homes to be incorporated into this drill. At each of these homes firefighters will be making critical decisions involving the appropriate actions to take and the safety of the public and their own crews. No live fire will be used in this training. The “evacuations” will be simulated by handing out informational flyers.

WHERE: The La Honda Fire Brigade, along with a number of other first responders and disaster preparedness groups will be conducting a wildfire and evacuation drill in the La Honda Canyon’s Cuesta Guild area.

WHY: This drill will mimic portions of the Bay Area’s most damaging interface fires, where homes in areas adjacent to open space are threatened by wildfires.

Over the last 20 years, 24,464 acres have burned and 3,895 structures have been lost to the largest of these fires. These include the 1991 Oakland Hills “Tunnel Fire”, the 1995 Marin County “Vision Fire”, the 2002 Santa Clara “Croy Fire” and most recently the Lockheed Fire in Bonny Doon in 2009.

These devastating fires have all been in close proximity to La Honda and should serve as a reminder to La Honda residents that we are not immune from a devastating wildfire in our local area. “Being prepared for this type of incident is critical. It’s especially important this year with fire conditions becoming more critical each day” said Ari Delay, Chief of the La Honda Fire Brigade.

WHO: Engines from the La Honda Fire Brigade, Kings Mountain Fire Brigade, Coastside Fire Protection District, San Mateo County Fire Department and Cal Fire will be participating in this drill.

This drill will also be a test for several other Coastside disaster preparedness groups, including La Honda Fire’s CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), South Coast CERT, SC4 an amateur radio club, Puente, ARES (ham radio group), San Mateo County Sherriff, San Mateo County Office of Emergency Services, San Mateo County Large Animal Evacuation group and the Coastside Medical Reserve Corps.

For further information please contact: La Honda Fire Brigade Chief Ari Delay @ 650-747-0381.

La Honda Fire Brigade 8945 Honda Road La Honda, CA 94020 TEL (650) 747-0381 FAX (650) 747- 0763

California Fire News 2012

- Follow @CalFireNews

No comments:

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

Monday, July 16, 2012