Getting to know Mountain Disaster Preparedness
This week, we begin a series of interviews with members of Mountain Disaster Preparedness, the local all-volunteer nonprofit organization with the mission of providing education, planning, and training for residents in support of first responders during emergencies in our mountain communities. Membership is free, and ongoing training prepares members to be part of its several working groups. This week, MDP President Mike Feyder provides an overview of MDP and these groups.
MDP was founded in 1986 by a group Feyder describes as “forward thinkers who loved Idyllwild but also recognized the challenges of living in a remote area and the threats we face here.” Their mission, which the group continues today, was to “educate and prepare our community, and support our first responder agencies in the event of fire, earthquake, and weather related emergencies.”
MDP is an all-volunteer group with free membership. “Over the years, with the financial support of the community, we have built a unique infrastructure to support this mission and our residents. This infrastructure includes nine Disaster Aid Stations, a secure FCC licensed radio network, a vibrant Community Emergency Response Team, (CERT) and a Medical group.”
Like many local volunteer groups MDP experienced a decline in membership during the pandemic. “We need volunteers.” For Feyder, as for many of us, the recent fires in LA, and the history of fires on the hill, underline the gravity of the threat we all face in the greater Idyllwild area from wildfire, and the need for residents to get involved.
Over the coming months, members of the board of directors will give updates on the various working groups within the organization, the training their members undergo, and how they support MDP’s mission. We will hear from Ron Sabala, Director of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Richard Yocum of the Medical Group, Jon Brown of the Digital and Social Media group, and Robert Hewitt of the Radio group.
Board meetings, open to the public, are at 4 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month, at the Idyllwild Library. Learn more, donate or sign up for MDP’s email newsletter at: mdpidyllwild.org.
