Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department In Part I, we discussed Santa Ana Winds and how winds significantly enable wildfire spread. Riverside County clearly witnessed wind-driven fires this September and October. With the Canyon #1 and Canyon #2 fires and the Wildomar Fire that started on Oct. 26, we saw how quickly and destructively wildfires can…
By John R. Hawkins Fire Chief Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department Before I offer some ideas on fire and life safety, please understand that I am honored for the Idyllwild Town Crier to invite me to share important emergency information with you. Simply, I thank you for reading my thoughts. So, what does fire and…
In April, I wrote about being prepared for the large fires and potential evacuations. I said at the end of that article I would have more later on survival “in place” for major disasters. Also, last month I talked about changes at IFPD, such as the recruitment of a new fire chief. I will touch on both subjects in this column.
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….
