Mountain Area Safety Taskforce meeting a chance to learn about community fire safety and evacuation plans
The Mountain Area Safety Taskforce will meet at the Idyllwild Nature
Center on Wednesday, September 11. The event brings together
representatives of all the agencies, governmental and nonprofits,
engaged in preventing and responding to wildfire in our community.
Usually there are members of CalFire and Idyllwild Fire, USFS, Riverside
Sheriff’s Office, and Riverside County Emergency Management Department
on the governmental side, and members of Mountain Community Fire Safe
Council, Mile High Radio Club, and Mountain Disaster Preparedness on the
nonprofit side.
The time to prepare is before a fire, and the time to learn about
evacuation protocols is this coming Wednesday, not the next time smoke
appears around our valley.
MAST’s mission is “Helping to prevent catastrophic wildfires in
Riverside County.” They produce a master plan for evacuations and
defense of mountain communities during wildfires. This includes much
information which is not public facing, regarding vulnerabilities and
shelter-in-place areas.
During the pandemic the meetings became virtual events, and this year
has marked the return of in-person public forums. If you are new to the
hill, they are the best way to get to know the special responsibilities
that fall on those who live in Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) zones, and
the roles of our various governmental and non-governmental
organizations. If you are a long-time resident, this is the time to get
updates and bring questions.
Recent meetings included briefings on MCFSC’s efforts against the Golden
Spotted Oak Borer, both preventing infection and removing dead and dying
trees. The group administers grants that help property owners take care
of this important part of forest health and fire abatement. We have also
learned about the County’s Rivco Ready program to send address-targeted
emergency messages to registered cell users (rivcoready.org.) The
Firefighting organizations report on fuel reduction projects and
incident responses. The Sheriff’s office is there to address questions
about evacuation warnings and orders.
If you have questions related to fire protection, emergency response,
fuel reduction, or forest health that you would like addressed by one of
the MAST agency cooperators, please submit them to LeighanneCalacuay:
Leighanne.Calacuayo@fire.ca.gov. This will enable the proper agencies to
provide a fuller response.
Mountain Area Safety Taskforce Public Forum, Wednesday September 11, 11
a.m. Idyllwild Nature Center, 25225 Highway 243.
