CAL FIRE NEWS: Surge of CAL FIRE Firefighters Hired to Prevent Wildfires Residents Urged to Prepare for Wildfires Now

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

CAL FIRE NEWS: Surge of CAL FIRE Firefighters Hired to Prevent Wildfires Residents Urged to Prepare for Wildfires Now

Surge of CAL FIRE Firefighters Hired to Prevent Wildfires
Residents Urged to Prepare for Wildfires Now

MVU FUEL REDUCTION PROJECT

Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/calfire/sets/72157666122688975/

With spring now taking hold in California, CAL FIRE is already staffing up for fire season, while focusing the efforts of its crews on preventing large and damaging wildfires. Recent rains have been a welcome sight to drought-parched California, but CAL FIRE firefighters are not letting their guard down, instead they are training for another potential busy fire season and working hard to prevent wildfires.

Across the State, CAL FIRE has already hired a surge of over 400 additional seasonal firefighters, whose focus includes fire prevention, fuel reduction and defensible space programs.
“While the winter rain has helped decrease the fire risk in some areas, it has not been enough to end the drought,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, director of CAL FIRE. “The rain is welcome, but it will not revive the millions of trees that have already died due to drought and bark beetle. Our firefighters are taking advantage of the weather and ensuring that we are doing everything we can to prevent the types of wildfires we experienced last year.”

While the additional firefighters are available to respond to wildfires, like the 240 fires that have already occurred since January 1, these firefighters will focus their efforts of fire prevention. The projects the crews are working on range from removing dead trees, creating and maintaining fire breaks, removing dense brush, performing prescribed burning, and assisting homeowners with education on Defensible Space.

While firefighters are busy performing fire prevention projects, it’s critical that residents do their part to prepare for wildfires by maintaining 100 feet of Defensible Space around their homes and property. This includes removing weeds and other dead or dying vegetation, limbing up tree branches, and cleaning off leaves and debris from roofs and gutters. For more information on how to create Defensible Space and prepare for fire season, visit ReadyForWildfire.org

Fire Prevention Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/calfire/sets/72157666122688975/
PSA (Video): https://youtu.be/YuyuMgXkhU8?list=PLBB35A41FE6D9733F
Public Service Announcement (Audio): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B63s5etyr7jYRUlBekdXWUpaT1E/view?usp=sharing
CONTACT: Daniel Berlant Information Officer (916) 651-FIRE (3473) @CALFIRE_PIO

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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

Wednesday, March 23, 2016