As I write this article today, we are all still waiting for the first snow on the mountain. The rain we received in October has helped to reduce the number and severity of fires in the county but the forest is still capable of having a large fire burn in a wind event.It’s sometimes hard…
After the Christmas tree lighting ceremonies in Idyllwild, I was thinking how lucky we are to live on this island in the middle of the sea of humanity known as Southern California. In some ways we have it better than most. If you’ve lived in a major city (or commute to one now), you know…
I wrote a similar column about this time last year but the message is still very important to your individual safety, your home and the community in general. After 39 years in the fire suppression business, I still can’t predict fire season exactly and I’ve never met anyone who can. However there are a few…
Editor’s note: In his August column, Chief Walker wrote about his first-hand observations of the Wallow Fire, which occurred in Arizona during May through July. Unfortunately, the chief could not prepare a September column because his Interagency Management Team was summoned to the Umpqua Complex Fire in Oregon. At 680 acres, the Umpqua Complex includes…
Everyone has followed the struggle in Congress about the budget ceiling, the national budget and the national debt. The California state government is a smaller version of the federal government, counties and cities are smaller and special districts are smaller yet. However, all of these levels of government are struggling with the same fiscal problem….
For those of us in the fire suppression business, winter presents a paradox. Once the rain and snow come we, and the citizens of our mountain, relax our hyper vigilance for wildland fire. Statistically however, the biggest threat to life and property in our mountain communities has been cold temperatures, ice and snow. We’ve never…
