The release of Cal Fire’s Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps is a positive step, but not a specific benefit to the local fire departments, according to Idyllwild Fire Chief Mark LaMont. The maps have value for fire departments, insurers, and property owners, but are not sufficient to address the issues of preventing the devastation from…
The January meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the Idyllwild Fire Protection District included the election of officers, the promotions of five firefighters, and the first mention by Chief Mark LaMont of his plans for retirement and succession. At this first meeting of the year two commissioners, Henry Sawicki and Dennis Fogle, who were…
Wednesday, July 25, the third of four consecutive days of heat warning, started with blue skies, hardly any clouds, but hot. No one had any idea how hot the day and days that followed would get.
The Board of the new Idyllwild San Jacinto Regional Fire Authority held its first meeting Thursday evening, June 9. The board is composed of the five-member San Jacinto City Council and the five-member Idyllwild Fire Protection District Commission. While the session last more than three hours, the decision to begin operating the San Jacinto Fire…
The Idyllwild Fire Protection District is the proud owner of two new ambulances, which were purchased last Wednesday through a General Services Administration auction and picked up Friday. Both were acquired for slightly less than $45,000 each. Although Fire Chief Patrick Reitz and the district’s Finance Committee have discussed replacing the district’s two ambulances, an…
Early in the morning of Friday, Jan. 30, a man and his son escaped a burning house in Idyllwild. While the entrance is on Marion View Drive, its location is about equally between Marion View and S. Circle drives. The fire caused power lines to fall on Marion View Drive, which was closed for several…
In September, a Riverside County grand jury notified the Idyllwild Fire Protection District and its Finance Committee that it found the IFPD responses to the June grand jury report were “not in compliance” with the penal code section specifying how to respond to grand jury findings and recommendations. The jury’s Sept. 23 follow-up letter asked…
The Fire District has scheduled three meetings Tuesday evening. The last, at 8 p.m., Tuesday Aug. 26, will be to review and approve both the Commission’s response to the June Grand Jury Report and a joint response from the Commission and its Finance Committee. The first meeting, at 5:15 p.m., is a resumption of the…
Residents and motorists will notice fire apparatus from several public safety agencies on May 22 in and around the Mountain Communities. Riverside County fire and law enforcement agencies, military, Mountain Communities Fire Safe Council and other key personnel will participate in Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) fire preparedness training that begins at approximately 8:30 a.m. and…
One special district — Idyllwild Fire Protection District — is guaranteed an election on August 27. Fern Valley Water District may need one, but the residents in the other two Hill water districts — Idyllwild and Pine Cove — will not need to cast a vote to fill the expiring seats. Only IFPD Commission President…
