First Mountain Area Safety Taskforce meeting of 2025
A chance to learn about community fire safety and evacuation plans
The Mountain Area Safety Taskforce will hold its first meeting of 2025 at the Idyllwild Nature Center on Wednesday, March 12. The event will bring together representatives of all the agencies, governmental and nonprofits, engaged in preventing and responding to wildfire in our community. These groups include CalFire and Idyllwild Fire, USFS, Riverside Sheriff’s Office, and Riverside County Emergency Management Department on the governmental side, and Mountain Community Fire Safe Council, Mile High Radio Club, and Mountain Disaster Preparedness on the nonprofit side. This is an opportunity to learn what these agencies are doing and learn what you can do to help prevent and prepare for wildfire.
MAST’s mission is “Helping to prevent catastrophic wildfires in Riverside County.” They coordinate fuels-reduction projects and produce a master plan for evacuation 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 last year marked the return of in-person public forums. For new residents they are the best way to get to know the special responsibilities that fall on those who live in Wildland Urban Interface zones, and the roles of our various governmental and non-governmental organizations. For long-time residents they are a chance to get updates and bring questions.
The largest nonprofit working locally to help residents with abatement is Mountain Community Fire Safe Council. They will update the community on their efforts against the Golden Spotted Oak Borer, both preventing infection and removing dead and dying trees, and their administration of grants that help property owners take care of their abatement and create defensible space.
Previous meetings have featured the county’s Rivco Ready program, which sends address-targeted emergency messages to registered cell users (sign up at rivcoready.org.) The Firefighting organizations report on fuels reduction projects and incident responses. The Sheriff’s office will be there to address questions about evacuation warnings and orders.
If you have questions related to fire protection, emergency response, fuels reduction, or forest health that you would like addressed by one of the MAST agency cooperators, please submit them to Leighanne Calacuayo: [email protected]. This will enable the proper agencies to provide a fuller response.
Mountain Area Safety Taskforce Public Forum, Wednesday March 12, 11 a.m. Idyllwild Nature Center, 25225 Highway 243. MAST meetings are quarterly, and this year are scheduled for June 11, September 10 and December 10.
